Finders Keepers
by kalee60
Summary: An artefact that could change the Wizarding world needs finding before it falls into the wrong hands.Enter Hermione Granger, Relic Hunter.But what happens when rival Draco shows up & they have to run for their lives to escape a mad-man who wants to change the world?With surprising secrets unveiled & threats of capture & death at every turn, is it enough to make these two play nice?
1. Chapter 1

Hermione looked down the cliff-face and brushed a sodden tendril of long hair behind her half-frozen ear. A spark of annoyance lit up inside of her chest - if she didn't invest in some industrial strength hair-clips soon she was seriously going to shave her hair off. It had always had a life of its own, usually getting in the way – especially when she was hanging almost one hundred metres up the side of a cliff trying to reach a small cave in a torrential downpour. A cave which reputedly contained the one and only key which could open The Grindle Chest – a key which had been lost for over seven hundred years. Hermione had her doubts if the key would be at the end of her trek – but it was good Intel which got her this far and the least she could do was check it out. If not, she would throttle Christopher and his _'Intel'_; which she fervently hoped hadn't been researched after an all night bender at their local pub – The Snidgets Alehouse.

She swore as her already partially numb fingers lost their grip for the fifth time in as many minutes and she pressed her body weight harder against the solid impenetrable rock face in front of her, trying to steady herself with only one hand. Thank Merlin her new boots had extra spike grips; she'd have fallen fifteen times over if it hadn't been for them. The rope she'd attached at her last check point was slick from rain, making it almost impossible to retain a good firm hold.

"Magic would have been freaking helpful." Hermione cursed while flexing her numb hand which tingled from the unfamiliar position of not holding on like she was about to fall to her death. It was also a great excuse to catch her breath for a moment.

Sighing loudly even though there was no one around to appreciate the effort it took, Hermione eyed her next hand-hold with a barely concealed groan. She'd been traversing this godforsaken mountain in Eastern Europe for the best part of the day and even though she was at her peak physical condition, it still made every muscle, tendon and bone creak with fatigue.

But knowing she was completely on her own and there was no one to magically bail her out, she continued on with her gruelling task and couldn't help thinking back to one of the reasons she took this damn job in the first place – Draco bloody Malfoy.

* * *

"Are you certain?" Hermione asked into the receiver as she shuffled a huge pile of reports around on her desk – _where the hell was it?_

"I have it on the most reliable source – ie; me - that the Key is in fact currently hidden in the Alps although the exact whereabouts is a mystery…"

Hermione laughed dryly as Christopher's voice drifted off into nothingness. They had met after a Quidditch game Harry and Ron dragged her to in their last year of studies. They had hit it off immediately, his favourite book - _'Hogwarts A History'_, his favourite colour - _peach_. The tall raven haired, blue eyed, totally gorgeous Wizard – was completely interested in _other_ Wizards – Witches just apparently didn't 'float his broomstick' if she got what he meant – she did, with unfortunate visuals at his choice of words.

"Of course the location isn't known, you dolt. It's been missing close to seven hundred years – did you think it would be sitting on some farmer's shelf as a book end?" Her words came out distracted as she stood up and moved another pile of papers – one day she would actually get her secretary to clean her desk.

"What the hell are you doing? Looking for your cold coffee?" She could hear Christopher's smile through the phone. Why he didn't just come into her office she didn't know, he was only one room down from her.

Hermione spied the small ceramic handle from her periphery and grabbed it in triumph, swigging at the half cold liquid. It was terrible.

"No…"

"Liar."

Hermione sat back cradling the awful sludge in the bottom of her _'Witches spell it better'_ mug, smiling at the look she knew graced Christopher's face. He was a tea man – coffee apparently belonged in another country he would never visit.

Years earlier Hermione had started her own business after completing her studies. She had countless offers from private organisations wanting her services, the Ministry also knocked on her door and MI6 threw their hat in the ring with a very intriguing offer – as a secret magic undercover agent within the non magic community. But, as tempting as some of the offers were, and the remuneration - she'd said no in favour of opening her own business, a business which had only gone from strength to strength over the last seven years. She wasn't filthy rich, but she didn't go without.

_Relic Collections_, was her brain-child from when she was studying at Hogwarts, something she'd dreamed of doing in between saving the wizarding world. On their travels during those years Harry, Ron and her had come across some of the most ancient and wonderful pieces of magical history – most which were lost again – Hermione wanted to find and restore them.

She and her small team of five hunters; collected and procured some of the oddest and most interesting magical pieces from all over the world. Generally she donated her more historical finds to the Museum of Magical History in London for younger generations to enjoy. Although her own ground floor of the office building was a small but lucrative museum of its own – selling pieces to rich investors – pieces which had no home and were deemed non-lethal.

"As I was saying, I've practically pin-pointed where in the Alps this magical ping originated, it obviously got triggered by something, then the magical signal went dead again..."

"I thought you said it's exact whereabouts was a mystery?" Hermione asked.

"Well yes, to anyone who doesn't have my skills and the new mapping system you so kindly gave to me for a bonus." Christopher rushed through the last part and Hermione grimaced.

"What bonus?" Hermione asked through clenched teeth. She said she would _think _about spending the ridiculous amount of money on the new electromagnetic mapping system for him if she thought it would, in the end benefit the company – she hadn't _made_ a decision yet. It seemed Christopher had made it for her.

"Don't get crabby, I had to make an offer for the equipment..."

"_Really_, Christopher – it had nothing to do with the head researcher Nathan?"

Christopher sighed dramatically. "Oh, Nathan, what a waste – but no, well partly – but, Malfoy Enterprises was after it too."

Hermione's fist clenched her mug tighter until her knuckles turned from a nice healthy pink to a taut white. "Malfoy?"

"Hmmm, do I sense some tenseness in the air? They also got the EMS system – so I'm going to hazard a guess they are going to go after The Grindle Chest key too."

Freaking Draco Malfoy was never going to let Hermione's life be simple. It wasn't enough he tormented her in her formative years – he'd followed her into adulthood dogging her heels. His company was huge, an inheritance from the late Lucius Malfoy – but what did Malfoy decide to do with it? Hunt down and find relics and sell them to the highest bidder – regardless of their historical value or danger to the wizarding community. He was a shark and she hated the name he'd given the rest of the genuine hunters.

"I'm not interested in finding the key, Christopher – let somebody else do it." Hermione hung the phone up ignoring the tinny protests she could hear.

Dropping her head into her hands, Hermione tiredly rubbed her eyes and felt anger bubble. She would not go after this mythical key just because Malfoy was supposedly doing the same, it was _not_ a competition. Though, a small part of her thrilled at the idea of thwarting Malfoy and getting one of the greatest historical finds over him. The Grindle Chest was one of the wizarding worlds' greatest ongoing mysteries - the holy grail of the hunting world, well the key to the chest was at any rate. The chest itself was locked away deep in the bowels of Gringotts – a place Hermione knew was not impenetrable. Yet, no-one had any reason to steal it as the whereabouts to the key had never been found...until now.

Potentially the chest contained the power to change the course of history. _Potentially_, because nobody really knew what the chest was for since it had never been opened. All lore about The Grindle Chest was lost, with only a few vague references to it in scrolls so water damaged from the great flood of 1457 it was impossible to know if it was The Grindle Chest they were on about or another one entirely. Then four days earlier a surge of magic made a blip in the middle of Europe, the magical signature disappeared as soon as it had registered on the Ministry's bandwidth. Relic hunters all over Europe immediately went into conspiracy theories, with the key being the most likely candidate to being able to pull up a signature of that strength. Literally hundreds of treasure seekers would be looking for it.

A tapping on her window made Hermione look up from her musings on the Chest – she was trying hard not to care if Malfoy found it first – since she had no intention going for it. None whatsoever.

A small brown owl was perched on her sill, quietly watching her with large intelligent eyes. Grabbing some pellets she opened the window and held her hand out – the owl hooted once and grabbed a beakfull of food and dropped its message for her. Hermione picked up the scroll and saw the wax insignia for her contact in the Ministry, Herbert. Frowning she looked at the small owl again. It was preening itself – and Hermione knew it was not an official Ministry owl – but why would Herbert want to hide the fact he was sending a message – especially when using his wax seal? _Odd._

Hermione read the message once and immediately picked up her phone.

"Christopher, get in here now – we have to go after the key. Be damned if Malfoy will get it first."

* * *

Throwing her weight behind her, Hermione grasped the small jutting piece of rock and thanked Merlin when it held – she was almost at the shelf where Christopher's maps said the cave should be. Once again she cursed the lack of magical help. Since hundreds of professional and of course just hobbyist hunters would be swarming all over this area, anything which could leave a magical trail had to be left behind else run the risk of being tracked. Hermione couldn't even have a wand on her person – it was safely tucked back in her hotel room – too many miles away for her liking. She had everything she needed hanging off of her including a Muggle stun-gun – the rest was back at her small makeshift camp site. An hour earlier she'd turned her comm off as Christopher kept asking if she 'was there yet'.

So far she hadn't seen anyone else, not that she was inclined to look at the forest floor below her. Hermione wasn't afraid of heights, she just didn't like the idea of falling, okay, she was_ slightly _petrified of heights. Hammering in her next small anchor she thought she heard something like a small thumping. Stilling her movement she waited and listened – nothing. The wind could play tricks on you so high up and she thought nothing of it and continued hammering. Half an hour later and another bucket of sweat she finally made it to the small shelf. Pulling her weight onto the platform only made her realise how absolutely bone weary tired she was, her limbs ached as lactic acid built up and screamed at her for a warm bath. But she was there.

Looking around she saw the shelf reached back a few metres before a split in the rock-wall formed a cave. It was near on impossible to see from front-on and in a helicopter it would be hidden. The rain had lessened into a mist and the coldness was beginning to return now she had relaxed somewhat, doing a few star-jumps helped, even if she felt like a fool hundreds of metres up a cliff doing cardio.

Unhooking her rope, Hermione made her way to the crevice and cracked her bright orange cave light and threw it in. It landed about twenty feet away at a bend in the wall. Nothing seemed like an immediate danger so she attached a head lamp, sent a small prayer to the goddess of luck and went inside.

It soon became apparent that the new gadget Christopher had given her (on pain of death if she broke it) was a god send. The cave had many different pathways which led off to god knows where, but the mapping system on the small black screen of the EMS sent a wave of ultrasonic probes out and showed Hermione which trails were dead ends.

Suddenly a noise from up ahead made Hermione stop and turn her headlamp off. It was a small rock-slide, and she swore she heard a muttered oath. Holding her breath she shuffled backwards until she was pressed against the wall and slowly felt her way forward. It seemed she wasn't alone. Hermione had no idea how this other person or persons had made it into the cave before her – it wasn't like the climb up was busy with overtakers and she had looked keenly with her high powered binoculars before setting out and saw nobody before her.

Then her eyes started to make out shadows, they had a light on, oblivious to the fact they were no longer alone. Hermione started to follow closer, her hand gripping the stun-gun hard.

As they inadvertently plodded along, the cave began to turn into a cavern – a large room the size of the Ministry's ballroom. Hermione watched as the person before her looked around the room – their light picking out nooks and crannies and other caves leading off of the main one. Hermione catalogued all this in case she needed to use the information – then the light hit a small Altar. Not an Altar you'd see in the movies with candles and a clear indication of what it was – but a change in the rock face, with carvings surrounding a small crevice in the wall.

Hermione held her breath – it was an astonishing display of ancient glyphs and in pristine condition. Suddenly the light swung around towards her hiding place, and she dived behind a large rock. Shit – she obviously let out a gasp without realising it. _Moron._

"Who's there?" A deep voice questioned, not kindly. Hermione kept quiet. "I'm not an idiot you know, come out now."

The voice was so deep from under-use Hermione felt a small thrill go down her spine, she'd always had a thing for low sexy voices. But she stayed still – not sure if this person was a genuine relic hunter or somebody with more nefarious deeds in mind.

"Have it your way – _Amiratr..._"

"Don't, you imbecile – you brought a wand with you – what an idiot – don't you realise that will set off any magical detector in a hundred mile radius. You may as well have left a neon sign out the front saying 'here it is'." Hermione was livid, this was obviously not a professional but some hopped up hobbyist hoping to make a quick buck.

Then they did something unexpected - they swore, out loud and using words she'd only thought the inside of locker rooms had ever heard. Now, Hermione was no real lady – but even her ears turned pink at some of the phrases being thrown out into the air. Then he said something which really made her freeze. "Fucking, Hermione Granger – this has to be the world's most cruel practical joke."

"Who the hell..." She trailed off as she switched on her light and saw the person in front of her did not actually possess a wand but a large mag-light torch. Thankful for small mercies she moved her eyes to their face and all the blood drained out of her body as hard grey eyes flinched at her direct light.

"Malfoy..."

* * *

Malfoy held a hand up over his eyes, shielding him from the bloody wench's torchlight. Out of all the relic hunts and cave systems in the world, Hermione stuffy-nosed Granger had to be hot on his tail in this one. He was _not_ impressed by the least that she had somehow managed to literally sneak up on him – especially when he'd looked all over the cliff face earlier and saw nothing. Although he _had_ come from above, his helicopter dropped him as close to the peak as it could fly in the thin air. He'd rappelled down to the shelf carefully over the course of the morning. It seemed the infuriating chit also had some mountain climbing prowess. He was _still_ not impressed.

"Could you shine that infernal light somewhere other than directly into my retinas?" He demanded through clenched teeth.

The torch moved and he saw spots for a moment, anger welling in him at the situation. Before he could speak again, Granger had moved towards the Altar and started to take photos on a small digital camera. He reached out and grabbed her arm before she could touch anything.

"Let go, Malfoy." Her unimpressed voice was followed by her shaking him off. He gripped harder and snarled. _Why was it Granger brought out the bully in him?_

"Are you stupid?" He asked instead.

Her sharp intake of breath made him smile briefly. "Clearly. If I'm letting a snake like you touch me then yes – I'm stupid, now let me the hell go." She tugged away once more and Draco didn't let go – pinching her arm in the process, her yelp echoed in the space.

"Quiet." He ordered, thinking he heard something other than her pathetic squeal.

"I will not..."

Draco pulled her towards him, she stumbled into his chest as one arm held her against him and the other slapped across her mouth – drowning out the infernal noise which was trying to escape. _Merlin, women were dense_, he thought as she wriggled for freedom. Then he heard it again, Granger too if her sudden stillness was anything to go by. They stood that way for a moment – listening. As they waited, Draco had the uncomfortable realisation that Granger was quite the perfect height for a witch and fit rather well in the crook of his arm as he held her. Suddenly he flung her away – mortified and disgusted at his train of thought.

A clanging noise could clearly be heard coming from the opening of the cave. Granger looked over at him frowning. "Are they with you?"

He shook his head, "you?"

"No."

He grabbed his back pack and headed for the Altar, Granger almost tripping on his heels. Annoyance filtered through his system, "Back off, Granger."

"No way – I have more invested in this than you, there is no way I'm letting you take an artefact of such historical value and watch you throw it to some power-money hungry suit for a quick buck."

Taking a deep breath in, Malfoy counted to three and when he found he wasn't choking Granger he counted again – nope – his hands were still by his sides. He didn't care what the general population thought about his business, and he even cared less what Granger thought – but for some reason it irked him today. People had no idea what he was really...

"Somebody's coming – quick." Granger yanked his arm towards a large rock and not even wondering why the hell she was helping him hide – they hid. At the last moment Draco remembered their torches and flicked his off as Granger mimicked his move. She wasn't completely stupid after all he begrudgingly admitted.

Two figures came skulking into the cave – their torches lighting up the area. Draco knew they were hidden quite well and out of the light's reach, another point for Granger – she could find large rocks to hide behind, she clearly didn't just crawl from underneath them. They spoke low and in a language he couldn't decipher, so he waited and wondered how the hell he was going to get to the Altar. He could push Granger out in front of these two and when they were busy with her he could snatch the relic. As he thought of another plan, not because he was worried about Granger, she was on the wrong side of the rock and would get in his way if pushed out – she moved slightly against him.

Suddenly Hermione's entire body was pressed against his, her lips almost touching his ear and a hand pressed against the other side of his head. _What the hell was she doing?_ He flinched and she pinched his other ear sharply. _Bitch._

"They are speaking Finnish, they're here for the same thing we are – I think they are armed." Her whispered voice tickled against his ear and before he could think on the peculiar feeling in his stomach she looked out around him and he found himself with a nose-full of her hair – it smelt of vanilla. He shook himself quickly and was once again unimpressed she knew a language like Finnish, then her lips were on his ear again, he held his breath. "They are definitely not in this for the relic – they are talking about a wizard who wants to use it, why on god's earth would somebody want to use it?"

Draco was not surprised like Granger clearly was, most people in the world would want to try and use The Grindle Chest if able. Maybe it was his less than stellar past acquaintance with the dark side of wizarding which made him know this – Granger was still obviously a bleeding heart and thought the best of the world. He wondered briefly what it would be like to be so innocently naive – or pathetic he quickly amended.

"We have to stop them." Before her whisper had even finished she had grabbed his mag-light and snuck out from behind the rock. Scrambling to follow her, he watched as she stealthily approached one of the dark figures and before he could take another breath in – she had walloped them over the head with a loud crack. They hit the floor in a cloud of dirt. Draco watched in utter amazement as the other figure turned around and Hermione immediately launched into a high kick to the face. But they blocked her and started to punch back.

Knowing he looked like a dunce standing there watching a girl fight for him – he joined the foray and tripped the person over, just as Granger kicked them in the stomach – they heard a grunt as the person toppled over and for good measure she punched them once on the jaw – the person didn't get up. Draco watched her in mute fascination as if she was a strange specimen under a microscope. This was a side of Granger he hadn't anticipated – he wasn't sure what he felt – except obvious dislike – something he'd always carried for the Muggle loving witch.

They both ran towards the Altar and Draco tried to shoulder her out of the way, her bony hips pushed him aside as they groped towards the prize, wanting to be the first.

"Just let me get in, Granger." He found himself saying as she dug her elbow into his ribs, wincing he continued to use brute strength.

"Over my dead body." She hissed.

"My pleasure."

Then he forced himself in front and reached into the small gap – his hand coming in contact with a wrapped object. Pulling it out he watched Granger's livid face with delight – he would never get sick of besting her. Never.

Ripping the cloth off he found himself staring at a flat piece of metal – actually it looked more like a forged sword tip – flat and about the size of a side-plate you would find on your dinner table – it was no key.

"Don't touch it..." Hermione yelled just as his hand came in contact with the cool metal – a blinding flash took over the room as they were thrown back towards the ground like an explosion had hit.

* * *

"Idiot." Hermione managed to mutter when she had pulled herself off the ground. "Now you really _have_ let the entire world know where we are. It's been lying dormant with only one flash of magic in centuries then you – who is full of magic, among other things," she snippily added, "awaken it with your touch. We will have every relic hunter on our heads in a matter of hours. Luckily I'm bloody prepared, you fool."

She pulled a small box from her backpack, ignoring Draco's snarky snort. The box was heavy and well worth the extra weight on her shoulders if it worked. It was made of pure lead – the only thing known to block out a magical signal – well, she hoped – it had only been tested recently with a 70% success rate, hence the reason she didn't carry her wand in this manner – if it didn't work they would soon know about it.

Shoving it back in her pack she felt a heavy hand grasp her forearm – looking up into Draco's dark eyes she raised her eyebrow at him.

"I found it first – it's mine, I'll carry it." Then he ripped it from her bag. Fuming, Hermione kicked out and landed a blow on the back of his shin making him falter, and swear. He spun and she was prepared, her fists were up, ready and willing to punch the git in that perfectly formed face of his. She faltered – _perfect?_ That small moment of hesitation was all it took for Draco to bag the box and head towards the entrance leading from the cavern, waving over his shoulder.

"Goodbye, Granger." His smug voice floated in.

Standing there stunned for a moment at his dismissal of her, she grabbed her gear and fled after him - Hermione would not let her relic leave with Malfoy. The altitude must be playing tricks with her eyesight if she suddenly found Draco's face attractive.

As Hermione rounded the first corner she slammed into his back, and then yelped as he pulled her down another path, one which led away from the mouth of the cave.

"What the hell...?" His hand had slapped across her mouth once again before her protest could get louder – _this would not do. _When all the wriggling in the world wouldn't get him to move his hand she tried something else. Against every fibre of her being, she stuck her tongue out and ran it across his palm. Draco's eyes widened comically at her antics, yet he didn't move his hand – she was too invested to stop now, else look like a fool. So she swirled her tongue like she was giving the best French kiss of her life. Instead of him flinching she watched with complete shock as Draco's eyes closed for a moment, something tugged deep within her – and with shock which reverberated through her body she realised it was the beginnings of lust. She pulled her tongue in as if it had been burned, at the same moment Draco snatched his hand away. They stood staring at the other for a moment, breathing heavily._ Definitely the altitude._

Then she heard footsteps heading towards them. Switching their lights off so darkness cloaked them again, they stood - backs against the cave wall as figures thumped past their hiding spot. When all was clear, they bolted out towards the light of day. Hermione watched as Draco slowly checked outside, and beckoned for her to follow when he had ascertained the coast was clear.

Immediately she saw six or seven thick black ropes coming from above – they had obviously followed Draco's lead and been dropped off above. She watched Draco and more importantly his backpack as he spoke in low volumes into an ear piece. Hermione was trying to figure a way of snatching the box back, when Draco strode up.

"What was your escape plan?" he asked quickly. "My helicopter has been grounded by bad weather."

Hermione indicated her climbing rope which hung from the precipice. "The way I came up."

"Shit." Malfoy ran his hands through his hair exasperatedly. "Not quick enough," he muttered to himself.

"What are you on about?"

Malfoy eyed her up and down and strode into her personal space, picking her up quickly. She yelled and thumped him to put her down, which he did straight away after jostling her for a moment. _What the hell?_ "Against my better judgement – I'm going to get you out of here. I may be an arsehole but I'm not leaving you to the Finnish mob, or whoever they're working for."

Hermione was left spluttering at his movements and speech. _Was he mad_ – certifiably most of the time she thought – but he was pulling on a different backpack and strapping himself to it and adjusting things. She grabbed the discarded pack by his feet which held the relic and strapped it to herself and ran towards her rope. Malfoy grabbed her before she got too far.

"You can run, Granger – but there is nowhere to hide from me – remember that. And just so you know – I'm _letting_ you hold the artefact, you didn't actually manage to steal it from me, nor will you be able to."

Just as she went to kick him in complete and utter fury, a noise from behind them startled her into quietness. A man stood there, and judging by the large machete in his hand – he was not going to ask them how the climbing weather was. He started to demand the relic and Hermione shrugged his way.

"English – I only speak English. No comprehendo." She said this slowly as if the man were dense. She felt Draco move, then his hand was on the small of her back pressuring her to move towards the cliff-face. The man spoke louder and more urgently – yet, still in Finnish.

"Do you trust me?" Draco asked.

Hermione snorted. "No, not at all."

"Perfect – it means I wont have to feel bad if this doesn't work..."

"If what doesn't?"

"This," and with that, Draco grabbed her in a death grip and started to run – she had no choice but to follow, panic and fear bursting through her.

Then he yelled, "hold on!" and picked her up and threw them off the cliff. They fell.

* * *

**A/N: Hey everyone - I'm back...finally! Well here is the first instalment of my new story - really hope you enjoyed it - I think it will be around 8-10 Chapters and I'll post around every week! As usual - would love to hear what you thought :) - Thanks for reading! Oh - yeah - sorry about the cliff hanger...literally...**


	2. Chapter 2

At first Hermione had nothing in her lungs to scream out with – she was completely breathless at what Malfoy had done. Then adrenaline kicked in as wind whipped around her falling body. They had separated slightly when they went over the cliff and Hermione couldn't help but panic – she had no parachute, no winged bodysuit; no rubber raft to inflate before hitting the ground. She may as well have been Wile E Coyote with an anvil strapped to her back.

Hermione had skydived before, mainly to get over her fear of heights and this was not helping with her overall terror – but she knew the position to get into. Face down with arms and legs extended to slow her descent, Hermione was sure her heart was about to jump out of her throat.

Then suddenly she felt a hard wall of body slam into her back and strong muscled arms loop themselves around her waist. Vaguely Hermione felt straps being hastily wound around her through the relief which flooded her body at Draco not forgetting she was there. Literally within seconds one arm left her body as his legs wrapped around hers tightly, and suddenly they were jerked as Draco pulled the rip-cord of his parachute and the large dark green chute came flowing out above their heads.

Hermione gasped in pain as her body was jolted back into a reasonable pace from the free-fall. The straps which Draco managed to wind around her bit into her stomach and she knew she'd have a huge bruise there in a few hours. But a bruise was a small price to pay – she could've been flatter than a pancake.

As they slowly whirled in lazy circles towards the forest floor beneath them, Hermione started to get angry. How dare Draco steal the relic which she clearly deserved more than him, then throw her off a cliff and have the audacity to save her life. She did _not_ want to owe him for her life, _which_ he'd jeopardised in the first place. Hermione didn't think about what might have happened if he hadn't been there when the Finnish speaking men appeared. But surely she would have somehow figured a way out of the situation. In the end, Hermione decided everything was Malfoy's fault – including the polar ice caps melting.

"Lift your feet up," Draco yelled just before they hit a small clearing. Hermione followed his instructions, purely because she didn't want a broken leg and not because he told her to.

The landing was very smooth and Hermione wondered how many tandem skydives Draco had actually done in his time – she quickly dismissed her curiosity as she really didn't care what Draco did in his spare time – although he clearly spent lots of time on his hair.

Whirling on Draco after they had disentangled themselves from the parachute, Hermione punched him directly on the jaw. The look of shock was worth the pain in her fist.

"What the hell, Granger," Draco growled as he rubbed the red blotch which appeared on his face, his eyes dark grey and livid. His entire being stood still, like a viper about to strike as he watched her through hooded assessing eyes. She gulped once, wondering if she'd gone too far, but then her anger kicked in.

"Don't _ever_ pull a freaking stunt like that again."

"Which one?" he said through clenched teeth as he cut the ropes away from the parachute, stuffing them in his backpack. "Stopping a hostile group of people from stealing an artefact slated to change the world – or saving your bloody life? You are so unfuckingbelieveably ungrateful, Granger. You know what - it's a deal, I'll never save your life again, you're too much of a pain in my arse."

Hermione's face screwed up in what she knew was probably one of her more unattractive looks and started to tell Draco Malfoy exactly every fault she knew he had – if she had the time, when something black caught her attention above their heads in the distance. She squinted through the fine mist which was still spraying them and saw a gleam. A pinging noise shattered the small copse of trees they were sheltered in. Hermione watched as the bark of a nearby tree splintered. Draco swore again and immediately pulled her into a tight embrace, slinging them sideways.

They landed in the thick underbrush of a tree, Hermione grunted as the wind got knocked right out of her lungs. Malfoy was a lunatic – throwing her around as if she were a suitcase at the airport, the anger which only ever rested near the top of her emotions when Malfoy was around peaked. Then Hermione thought about the actual backpack strapped on her – she had the relic, all she needed to do was lose Malfoy. Another round of pinging noises hit the trees and it finally dawned what was happening - they were being shot at. The black things floating in the air were parachutes, and obviously some of their pursuers were carrying guns. This was getting serious. What she had overheard in the cave between the men stayed in her mind. A wizard called Raul, a name she'd never heard before, wanted to put The Grindle Chest together again to change his past, that's all she could discern before she knocked one of them out. It was enough to know the Chest couldn't fall into this Raul's hands – but what exactly _did _they find in the Altar? It didn't appear to be a key – but it seemed Raul thought it was worthy of being in his possession. Hermione suddenly wanted to make sure he didn't get what he wanted – not until she knew more about him. The note Herbert Owled her was also in her mind – one line kept blaring out at her – _trust no-one._

Draco shifted against her, pulling Hermione from her thoughts. No chance of her trusting anyone at the moment anyway she thought as grey eyes found hers, they both scowled. Abruptly she realised he was half on top of her body - almost as if he were shielding her. She felt a strange sensation rise up, _was Draco protecting her?_ Surely not – he'd just made it abundantly clear she meant less to him than a petri-dish full of mould. Draco gazed down at her, his expression unreadable, his blonde fringe fell into his line of sight, and Hermione inhaled sharply, not understanding the concept of finding Draco anything but abhorrent. Their eyes stayed locked.

"What are you doing, Hermione? There's a lot of heavy breathing going on and it doesn't belong to just you," a distorted voice asked into her ear, followed quickly by a robust laugh. "Oh god, you didn't pick up a bearded bushranger and are now having a sordid dirty afternoon of finding out how good a beard-rash can be?"

Hermione jumped up and swore; Christopher's smugness filtered through her ear piece, the Comm must have switched back on during the excitement of the last ten minutes, she switched it off. Draco pulled himself around and looked up at the parachutes which were starting to circle, oblivious to her reddening face and quickening heartbeat. Why in Merlin's name was she suddenly imagining Malfoy with a blonde shaggy beard?_ Bloody Christopher._

"It looks like we are in this together for the next few minutes, Granger - any bright ideas which way to go? I can't contact my guide anymore." Draco asked clearly unhappy with their situation as he looked at a broken earpiece in his hands. Damn it, it wasn't her bloody doing that a bunch of foreign Finnish men were chasing them down a mountain, why could he always make her feel everything was somehow indirectly her fault? Because she let him, was her minds smart reply – _toughen up._

Hitting the small button on her earpiece she barked out an order, "Christopher – we need to get out of here, don't ask anything – just send me something on this bloody mapping system I spent hundreds of thousands of Galleons on. Now."

For once Christopher didn't argue, seconds later a beep went off on the screen Hermione held. Draco grabbed it before she could look at the map; she angrily tried snatching it back.

"Give it back." She leant across him and he raised his forearm blocking her grab attempt. She punched his upper arm, a small grunt escaped him but other than that he didn't move. It made her more frustrated than ever. She scrambled to his other side to be met with the other elbow in her way; she literally could feel her blood boil. "Do you know how much that bloody thing cost me? I want it…"

"Of course I do – we manufactured it. I know the EMS inside out; this way." He slammed the backpack containing the artefact on his back and took off into the underbrush still carrying her mapping device and pack. Hermione was left standing stunned at what he'd just said – what did he mean he manufactured it? Suddenly Hermione heard another ping and realised she was in real danger of being shot; she scrambled after Draco's form cursing the day he walked into her life.

"What's happening, Hermione?" Christopher's panicked voice filtered through cutting in and out slightly with static. "Was that gunshots?"

"Christopher, we need an extraction pronto – can you get a read on our position using the GPS?" Hermione heard more static, then nothing. "Christopher?"

The Comm was dead, and Hermione had no idea if Christopher had heard her or not – she would assume not. Feeling cut off from the world, she quickened her pace to keep up with Draco's long strides and tried ignoring the shouts she heard from behind them. This was the scariest position Hermione had been in since the war. Sure, relic hunting sometimes became hairy – but it usually came in the form of cave-ins, large animals or magical booby traps – never had she been shot at with Muggle guns before and never had she been on the run with someone she couldn't trust. She felt a nervous energy bursting in her stomach at the thought she may not survive this, how could she when hostile men were after them and Draco now held the mapping device _and_ the artefact – he could quite easily leave her behind. It was as she thought this that Hermione realised she couldn't see Draco's tall frame in front of her anymore and her stomach dropped. _Oh shit._

Hermione came to a stop and leant against a tree breathing heavily from running. She needed water, which was in her backpack – which of course was on Draco's back. Fighting off a feeling of overwhelming despair she started to think about her options. She knew her camp was somewhere close to the mountain on the east side – she still had a compass on her watch, she should be able to navigate back to her supplies. Hopefully their pursuers were more interested in finding them then scouring the land for a campsite. Then she could make her way to the nearest road and hitch-hike back to the small local town where she had a room and a wand. After she was there – she would hunt Draco down and maim him – not a bad plan overall.

"Are you damn well deaf as well as stupid, Granger? I said keep up – not bloody rest against a tree – or did you not see the ten men with machine guns chasing us. Daft bint." Draco's words overshadowed any relief she might have felt at his returning, and her hand itched to slap his face once more – sensing her intent Draco took a step back and raised an eyebrow. "Are you ready to keep up now, Princess?"

Glaring at him she retorted, "I'm not the one with a personal dressmaker at my beck and call, _Princess."_

"Alex is a tailor – there is a world of difference…why am I explaining myself to you of all people?" Draco ran a hand through his hair and Hermione tried very hard not to watch as the wet strands realigned themselves against his face. "What is it about…" he shook his head instead, "here."

Hermione had no time to wonder what Malfoy was about to say as he thrust her water bottle into her hand. Momentarily stunned at his apparent kindness, she lost her words as cool refreshing water slid down her throat. Without thought Hermione closed her eyes and groaned at the wonderful taste of cool liquid. When she had her fill, she opened her eyes and saw Draco watching her with the strangest expression on his face. Without meaning to, she licked her lips slowly – wetting them. Draco took a step forwards – her breath caught in her too tight throat. Then a shout came from behind them, Draco's face shuttered over and he motioned for them to run. She followed – heart pounding from who knows what.

* * *

Draco cursed, he cursed a thousand times in his head, he cursed his luck, he cursed his situation and most of all he cursed the damn brown haired bint who was currently keeping up with him as they ran away from a group of men armed to the teeth. How did this happen? Surely Draco's small part in the war was not enough of a reason the fates had dealt him such a harsh hand, stuck with the most annoying witch to walk the entire earth. He had a sudden visual of Pansy and re-assessed, second most annoying witch, he wasn't sure why the Gryffindor came in second over his fellow Slytherin. He must have hit his head as they fell.

As they crashed through the underbrush, Draco kept glancing down at the EMS and the map which somebody had sent her, he admitted it was the perfect map for their situation. He would never say out loud that somebody Hermione knew had done the smart thing – it would somehow make him less manly – less Malfoy-like. Maybe she wasn't all horrific hair and smart mouthed after all. Suddenly a thought came through unbidden – Granger's mouth moaning around her water bottle, she had lips made for…._oh no you don't, _he cut off the voice and took a deep breath in.

_Enough folly, _Granger was annoying, too abrasive and riled him up the wrong way constantly – she was beneath him in every way that mattered. Draco swore and looked down at the mapping device his subsidiary company created while he fended off thoughts of Granger beneath him.

Draco glanced behind to see the reason for his annoyance grim-faced but keeping up. He looked back at the small screen and saw a marking which meant a cabin or shed was only about two hours away. If they kept zigzagging trying to lose their pursuers they might make it by dark-fall. His legs were burning and he knew Granger's would be worse; since she had climbed _up_ the mountain – but he felt no pity, his life was at stake here too. She could either keep up or he _would_ leave her behind this time.

It took a little over three hours to make it to what turned out to be a small log cabin. The rain had started to come down in earnest for the best part of that time and both he and Granger looked like drowned rats and felt like jelly wobbling around on a plate. Exhaustion threatened to overwhelm Draco, but he pinched his forearm to wake himself up and quietly snuck towards the dark cabin. He saw no smoke rising from the chimney and it appeared nobody was there, but you couldn't be too careful. It looked to be a hunting cabin – crudely made and ramshackle, though it would be dry inside. The constant rain and misery had ensured they said no words to the other – well, nothing but snapped swear words at any rate. It was nice to be on solid familiar ground with Granger – mutual contempt.

When he was happy that the cabin was empty, Draco tried the door. It was locked. Growling in frustration he looked to the window and went to find a rock to break the glass. He heard a snort of laughter as a lock clicked. Turning, he saw Granger's smug expression; a set of keys in her hand and an open door in front of her.

"How on earth…?" he trailed off as she dropped the keys back under the welcome mat. "What a stupid place to leave keys – have they not heard of security?"

In truth Draco was pissed he hadn't thought to look there. He didn't like Granger besting him.

The inside of the cabin was as plain as the outside – although there was a fireplace, a cupboard with a few tins of Muggle food and a bed. But it was clean and dry. They only had limited time so he left the caving lights on to see by. He turned to tell Granger to check the food situation when she thrust a tin into his hands, a fork soon followed. Draco looked down at the mess of what appeared to be some kind of bean mix. "What is it?"

"Food," Hermione snapped and sat on the edge of the table and ate with a gusto he'd never imagined of Granger. Where was her prissy small lady-like manners, the witch in front of him had no such social graces – for some reason this made his frosty opinion of her start to thaw – minutely. Draco heard her sigh loudly when she saw him eyeing the food warily, he still wouldn't put it past her to drug him with strange tinned food. "It's franks and beans – it's better warm but it won't kill you. Eat."

Tentatively he tried it, it was not unpleasant, but he would have killed for a coffee to wash it down with. Granger took his empty tin and took it to the sink as he leant against the table, too afraid to sit lest he not get up again – they still had a long way to go. Weariness threatened so he made himself stand, they had no time for this.

"Grab as much food as you can – I'll see what else we can use," he said as he got up and went to a utilities cupboard. Opening it up he was pleased, there was a lot of gear they could use.

"Can't we stay here?" an annoying voice asked, Draco exhaled slowly as he pulled out a small tent.

"Of course we can, I'd say we have an hour maybe two at best before they storm the door and kill us. I thought you were supposed to be the smart one – maybe I misjudged the Weasel…"

"Don't be an arsehole…okay, I take that back – you can't be anything but - but where are we going to go?"

Draco sighed again and ran his hand through his drying hair, scratching at the back of his neck – he really didn't want to answer – she was annoying him by breathing the same air. He watched as she re-braided her hair, squeezing water out as she did, looking exhausted. He allowed himself a nano-second of pity for the tired witch then scowled; she was still bloody expecting an answer.

He pulled out the EMS and pointed to a small town a few hours away. Hermione looked at it for a while. Then pointed in the opposite direction, "We have to go here first though."

Draco knew if a pin dropped in the room at that very moment it would have sounded like a bomb going off. "_No_, we don't – we go this way –_ away_ from the bloody men who are trying to kill us. We are not going back the way we came – I was correct – Weasel _was_ the brains behind the whole operation, who'd have thought."

A stinging sensation hit the back of his head and he realised Granger had slapped him there. He growled and grabbed her hand – furious eyes met his and he felt something flare between them. He never knew hatred felt so electric.

"My wand is there, I need it."

"You're wand is _where_, exactly?"

"At the hotel," she said through clenched teeth.

"Are you daft, leaving your wand in a damn hotel?" At her sharp inhale of breath, Draco realised something, he was enjoying making her angry, really enjoying it.

"It's well hidden, but I can't leave it behind, why - where's yours?" Their eyes met and Draco knew he didn't want to answer, he let her go with a rough push and she staggered back, rubbing her wrist – he wasn't bloody holding her that tightly – _over-reacting wench._

Finally he muttered, "In _my_ hotel."

Then she did something completely unexpected – she laughed. Draco expected the sound to be like nails down a chalkboard or at the very least make him shudder in revulsion. Unfortunately neither of these things were true – and he realised he had never heard Granger laugh – ever, and he never wanted to again – it did funny things with his gut. Yes, it must have made him sick he rationalised.

"Fine," she eventually choked out. "We will go to your hotel as long as you promise we will Apparate to mine immediately."

Draco didn't want to promise this witch anything, but he found himself nodding; then wondered why he had agreed two seconds later. He definitely hit his head on something. They spent the next fifteen minutes grabbing supplies. Draco found some lightweight but insulated blankets, a tent, matches, two hunting knives and an ancient looking shotgun with four shells. Hermione stuffed a bag with food then they were off again.

If the trek was miserable before it was fifty times worse now, forked lightening flashed across the sky making the forest appear bleak and evil in the darkness. Looking at his watch he saw it was close to three in the morning and knew they should at least travel another hour or two before resting. Rain sleeted down in heavy drops stinging his face and hands, the cold began to bite through his bones and after forty minutes he knew they'd have to stop. The rain was so heavy it felt like they were traversing through thick molasses.

Thunder roared above their heads and a crack of lightening made Draco's stomach jump as he heard trees being struck a few hundred metres away – it wasn't safe in the woods – but they had no choice. He was blaming Hermione for their predicament. If she hadn't bloody been on the mountain trying to steal his relic, then they wouldn't be in this position. He would have climbed up to his waiting helicopter and could literally be sitting in his hotel room, sipping Fire Whiskey and getting a massage from one of the blonde room-service girls, among other pleasures. This was all her fault.

The tent thankfully went up reasonably quickly in the downpour, although at times he could see Granger looking at him while holding the sharp end of a tent peg – he watched his back not entirely uncertain she wouldn't try and drive it between his ribs. The first ten minutes inside of the tent were some of the most awkward and fury invoking of his life. The witch would not move over enough so they weren't touching.

"It's the size of a broom closet, what do you bloody expect – it's a Muggle tent not a freaking wizard one," she snapped before infuriatingly going to sleep in three minutes flat, pushed right up against his side. He grumbled under his breath for another five before dropping off in exhaustion, not at all enjoying the press of another body against his.

* * *

Hermione awoke to two things. One, she thought she heard a noise from outside the tent, the second – she was wrapped tighter around Draco Malfoy's body than cling-wrap gone wrong. Her nose was nestled against his chest, which instead of puffing out in ridiculous conceit was actually quite warm and comforting, two things she never ever would have thought Draco could be. The scent he wore still teased her nostrils, it was a Muggle scent she was sure, something expensive with an actor spruiking it – but it smelt wonderful…_gross, nauseating and ill-suited to his skin type_ she quickly over-rode. His arm curled around her in a once more protective gesture and she was dismayed to find her leg tangled between his. It felt like the beginning of an awkward romance novel – horror story, _Merlin_, her mind was muddled.

A snapping noise made her jump up and a groggy Draco took one look at their position and immediately scowled and went to say something, she shushed him with a hand over his mouth; glad she could finally do it back to him. They listened for a good few seconds – nothing. Hermione let out a breath and let go of Draco's mouth, accidently trailing her finger across his lip in the process. He stilled and she looked at him, his eyes were hooded from sleep and his warm breath tickled her fingers, but it was the intensity of his gaze which sucked the air from the tent. There was more electricity in the small space than in the London CBD, and Hermione didn't want to know how that could be possible. They hated each other – intensely.

Suddenly the tent was ripped apart – literally. A large knife sliced through the side and Hermione found herself pulled from the inside into the cold drizzling rain, looking up at a man who felt so wrong it made her stomach lurch.

Draco was likewise subdued but with a little more fight, it took a few minutes before the other man had him pinned to the forest floor, Draco's blonde head pushed into the wrecked tent. There were only three men, all had guns strapped to their backs and wands sheathed on their belts – why didn't they use them? Surely a stunning spell would work better than brute force. Hermione's stomach was still roiling, maybe the franks and beans were a bad choice – she never checked the 'use by' date. Holding the bile down, she looked over to Draco whose face was also white – was he feeling sick too? _Oh god _– she had killed them with bad tinned food. Hermione would never live this down.

"The pack – where is it?" the accent was thick and Hermione knew the man holding her was German not Finnish.

"Over here." A man with a South African accent said holding up her pack, Hermione winced as the man pulled out the box. He didn't open it though; and she had to wonder how many countries were in on this little expedition – she had heard three different accents so far – were they mercenaries or guns for hire? The German leant over her and she swallowed down vomit – what the hell was wrong with her?

"You didn't run far away enough little witch," and he smacked the back of her head with the butt of his gun. It didn't knock her out but she fell to the ground, and threw up what remained of the franks. Through the tears in her eyes she watched as one of the men pulled Draco to his feet and strode him a few meters away before forcing him to his knees. The German above her was barking orders into a small device, she didn't speak German – but she saw Draco's head turn sharply – did he understand? Hermione knew the bump on her head had mangled her thought pattern when she found herself more shocked that Draco could understand a Muggle foreign language more than them being chased down like foxes on the great hunt.

"Kill him and take her," the German finally said after a garbled reply came through his radio. Hermione felt her stomach revolt again – but not due to food – they were about to execute Draco. The man took out a gun from his belt and once again Hermione wondered why they didn't use the killing curse with their wands – it was almost as if they forgot they were wearing them. She saw Draco stiffen and he glanced sideways at her. Hermione knew in that instant she didn't hate him, probably never did – still disliked with a burning intensity, but not enough to see him die. The thought of never exchanging barbed criticisms at the other left her feeling cold; she had to do something.

Ignoring the sick feeling still compounding in her gut she jumped up so fast her skull knocked into the German's chin – he yelped as blood spotted down on her face and she realised he'd bitten his tongue – she hoped it was clean off as she spun and punched him with all her might – the pain which ran through her fist made Hermione wonder if she'd splintered a bone in her hand, but the German fell holding his face.

The other two men looked at her in surprise, it was all Draco needed as he jumped up and began to kick and punch the wizard who moments before had held him at gunpoint. Adrenaline coursed through her body as the last man ran at her. Merlin, she'd only ever really done a little bit of self-defence at the behest of Ginny. Never had she been in a situation where arse-kicking was a reality, she crouched in what she hoped was some form of fighting stance and as he ran at her she raised her foot up and held it steady at the last possible moment – like she'd been taught. It caught him in the throat, his momentum and her rock-hard climbing spikes bit into the soft skin of his neck. Hermione felt the sickness rise again and thought it was due to the blood running down the man's jugular. He fell. Aghast at what she'd done she dropped to her knees heaving, then looked at the man she'd killed – then realised he wasn't dead. The spikes weren't enough to do more than rip a few layers of skin off – he'd be fine, but sore when he came to. She saw the rock hidden on the ground near his head, slightly bloodied – that was why he didn't get up. Thankful beyond belief she had no death on her conscience she watched as Draco fought with the South African. His movements fluid and precise – she realised with astonishment he'd studied under a Sensei. What other Muggle things had Draco gotten involved in – her mind couldn't comprehend this man before her – fighting like he was a black belt. She flashed back to Hogwarts and his intolerance of anything Muggle – what had changed?

A blast of magic flew past her and almost cleaned Draco up, she realised they were no longer alone, and this new wizard had no compunction whatsoever at using magic. Grabbing the packs and ripping the wand from the prone man at her feet she ran for Draco.

Holding the wand out in front of her she yelled, "Expelliarmus…" nothing happened, a tingling down her arm was all she felt – nothing came from the wand tip at all. _What in hell?_

Another blast and a feeling in her stomach which almost brought her to her knees came about, Draco had landed one last blow and she saw the South African spin once then drop like a sack of potatoes. The bag she held flew from her hands as an 'Accio' spell took hold from behind her. And she could do no more than watch in horror as the bag disappeared through the trees and a blast of blue fly back at them. If she hadn't had grabbed Draco's leg at the last minute pulling him hard, the spell would have taken his head off – instead of a glancing blow to his temple. He yelled in pain as he dropped. Hermione shook him then slapped him when he didn't immediately open his eyes. As she went to slap him again – he grabbed her hand tight – she winced – it was the same hand she punched the German with.

"Do that again and I will…."

"Get up, you Idiot – they have the backpack and are coming for us."

Draco winced and flipped himself onto his hands and knees – Hermione helped him to his feet as he half limped, half ran for the thicker underbrush. She managed to grab the German's gun as they went past him – then they disappeared into the thick lining of trees – hoping whoever was pursuing them got what they wanted in the backpack, she felt a little hopeless at inadvertently losing the relic. As they fled the sick feeling in her gut lessened – she realised after a moment, it might have been the wizards making her feel sick – but why?

She had bigger things to worry about as after an hour of fleeing, very slowly she might add – Draco dropped to the ground. She saw his head was bloodied worse than she originally thought, the wand blow had glanced off him, but it was still a bad hit. She heard no pursuit after a few moments so she grabbed a bottle of water from Draco's pack and using a small bit of cloth from her t-shirt she wet it and began to wipe the blood from his face. The angle was awkward at first so biting the proverbial bullet she pulled his head into her lap while continuing her ministrations. Hermione couldn't help but look at Malfoy's face so peaceful and vulnerable in its unconscious state. It was so unlike his usual sneering arrogance he seemed to especially reserve for her.

Once she started to look she found she couldn't s_top_ looking; pushing strands of hair behind his ear to better access the cut, she almost gasped out loud. His hair was like silk. Hermione ran her hand through it again without thinking. It fell through her fingers like a waterfall of soft white gold. She felt a momentary pang of jealousy – why was her hair so unmanageable, yet a Git like Malfoy had salon quality locks after being chased all over the forest in hail, rain and sleet?

Malfoy groaned and Hermione started, realising that she had been carding his hair for the last 10 minutes without once thinking about how much she loathed him. Hermione grumbled under her breath – _okay,_ she didn't loathe him, just disliked intensely – she'd already discovered this earlier – it shouldn't be such a big deal – but it was. It was a shift in their relationship of sorts. Hatred was easy – dislike meant more work on her behalf as she might start justifying why Malfoy did things instead of immediately blaming it on him being a prick, just for the sake of it. Although the reasons why she hated him in the first place seemed to be slipping away when she tried to think on them. Quite frankly that scared her more than the men who just threatened her life.

He murmured something unintelligible and her eyes were drawn to his pink lips. Lips she really didn't want to think about – as for some reason they looked completely soft and kissable – she remembered the look Draco gave her when her index finger trailed over his lips earlier, and she felt something tighten below her belt, _this was ludicrous. _Life and death situations were not good at keeping a straight head she decided.

Hermione held the damp cloth in place and let her other hand drop away from his cheek, thankful that his awakening inadvertently stopped her from thinking things she wasn't sure she could come back from. Draco's eyes started to open, and he winced in pain. "Bloody hell that's wet and sloppy – get it off me."

Hermione complied and felt like dropping his head back on the hard ground, but managed not to. She should get an award for congeniality.

"What happened?" he asked groggily as he slowly sat up away from her, a slight frown marring his features at the pain in his head or the fact it was in Hermione lap two seconds earlier she didn't know.

"We were hunted down, almost killed by wizards who made me want to vomit the entire time, and then you got hit by a blast just as they stole the relic we were trying to keep from Raul."

"Raul?" Draco questioned. She realised she hadn't told him what she'd overheard the Finnish men talking about – she filled Draco in and his frown deepened. "I guess we'd better keep running then," he finally said.

"What for – they have what they wanted."

Draco grinned and she really didn't feel the traitorous muscles in her stomach tighten at the boyishness of that one small upturn of his mouth. He lifted his shirt and she gasped.

The bloody bastard had the relic strapped to himself on what looked like a brace of some sort – she leant over without realising it and traced the lines of the brace – it was made of lead, just like her box – it should lessen the magical residue it leaked. Suddenly she realised she was leaning over him on her knees while Draco sat back his stomach exposed to the world, she flicked a glance down to his pale skin and saw his abdominal muscles clench – it made her gut quiver. _Oh god,_ what was happening to her? Desire ran rampant through her veins; she needed to get away from him. Standing up quickly and ignoring the shortness of her breaths she finally realised what this meant.

"You were going to steal it from me?"

"To be fair – it was never yours to begin with."

Hermione had no retort to that, anger made her mute, because all she would yell at him is what an arrogant thieving arsehole he was – it could possibly lead the bad guys to their location because she was sure she'd scream it at the top of her lungs. Consoling herself, Hermione knew all that really mattered at the moment is they had the relic; and they had to get away from this forest as soon as possible and try and get help. Herbert, her insider at the Ministry would have to have some idea what was going on. She tapped the Comm again; it was still dead; so Christopher couldn't help them.

Malfoy held the EMS and pointed at a large river an hour or two away, "that's where we head."

Nodding in agreement, Hermione followed Draco into the forest, wondering the whole time how she was going to unstrap the relic from his chest in order to steal it back. The thought of touching Draco's body filling her with nothing but shivers – of the bad kind she reasoned – ignoring the little 'liar' thrown in from the depth of her psyche.

* * *

**A/N: Wow...just wow, what an amazing response to my first chapter - I can't thank you all enough! So great to see so many familiar names and some new ones too! Hopefully you all enjoyed part two as well, I seriously had a ball writing this story! As always, I love to hear what you thought of the new instalment and am absolutely chuffed at all of you who reviewed, favourited and alerted this so far - you have all just made this already amazing week even better! :)**


	3. Chapter 3

Hermione and Draco had been walking over two hours and there still wasn't any sign of the supposed river the EMS had picked up. She was beginning to think it was faulty. Something started to niggle in the back of her memory – didn't Draco say something about a company he owned?

She looked at him sideways and felt a spindle of anger begin and a frown formed on her face, he only had to be in a five hundred metre vicinity to make her feel this way. Hermione didn't like to think on the other things he may or may not make her feel, as far as she was concerned everything else she 'may' be feeling towards him was due to the adrenaline – she was sure she read about it in Witches Weekly at some point, that and an article on pruning her Venus fly trap.

"So, how much further do we have to stumble through this bloody forest before we come to that river _your_ device said was just an hour away?" Hermione heard the whine and sarcasm in her words – she didn't care.

"The electromagnetic mapping system is never wrong," he replied haughtily, "you must have set it up incorrectly." He paused for a second and she threw an extra glare his way for good measure. "You truly don't believe it was my company who created it, do you?"

"Considering it is of Muggle design, not sold in wizarding circles and the company itself is completely sustainable and environmentally friendly – then no – I think you're lying. It's as far from a Malfoy product as it could get – it doesn't ruin lives."

She watched as Draco's smirk slowly faded and was replaced by a look she couldn't discern, maybe she was being a little harsh, but she wouldn't apologise – _he_ never did. "There's a lot you don't know or understand about me, Granger. But," his tone changed from soft to arrogant within a second. "I refuse to explain myself to an ignorant, over-achieving witch such as you."

Spluttering an incoherent reply which even she couldn't understand she threw daggers at Draco's back when she heard a muffled laugh – _arsehole._ Hermione was still pissed that Malfoy had stolen the relic. It was a typical underhanded tactic a Slytherin would employ. She was continually ignoring the fact it had worked out to their favour at the moment, though she now knew as soon as the wizards discovered they had been duped when they opened her empty lead box – they would be hunting them down like there was no tomorrow. She glanced over her shoulder, the forest looked silent – for the moment.

"There's nobody following us yet, Granger – stop being so nervous. It's making me bloody jumpy."

She felt her eyebrows furrow, "You know what - don't speak to me – I don't want to hear your superior voice flapping on about nothing."

"Oh, so I'm annoying you, am I? Good to know." He was quiet for all of ten seconds before starting again; she felt air hiss out between her teeth. "You do realise you have no choice but to talk to me."

"There's always a choice," she snapped. "Just like you had a choice in the war and completely screwed it….."

Suddenly he was on her – Hermione only had a split second to realise she'd overstepped her mark by fifteen metres – why the hell had she brought up the damn war, what was wrong with her? It had no bearing on what they were going through now, none whatsoever – she was just poking the angry bear. Draco pushed her into the nearest tree, hard – holding her there. The look of fury on his face shocked her into silence. His weight was behind him and Hermione started to come to the uncomfortable realisation that Draco felt rather good pressed against her. _Get your shit together, he's an imbecile._

"You have no idea what I _did_ or did _not_ do in that blasted war – I'm sick of hearing about it – especially from the holier than thou Hermione Granger. Don't pretend to know me – don't pretend to know what went on. That's all I'm saying on it – are you ready to move on from 10 years ago, because I'm done."

Hermione stayed silent, not really sure what to say. The need to apologise for her gross lack of finesse when dealing with him was at the forefront of her mind – but she never gave in to Malfoy, never had and never would. He was right, she didn't know what he went through; all she saw was the aftermath – the effect of his decisions, bad ones, but ones he had to make under who knew what pressure. For some reason her mouth was not attached to her brain at the moment and a small 'sorry' escaped her lips without meaning to.

"What?" he questioned disbelievingly.

"I said sorry, don't milk it." She took in a deep breath and let it out slowly, Hermione was overtly aware of his body still pressed tight with hers. This was different from waking up sprawled on him earlier that morning, because that was involuntary, it happened in her sleep. What was happening now was going on wide awake and she was aware of the situation, so why didn't she automatically push him off? She was scared to wonder why so she squashed it. He shifted slightly and an unwelcome shard of sparks flew up her spine making her shiver – Hermione started - she was seriously beginning to battle in her mind whether this wizard was making her furious or turned on._ Definitely furious _– definitely; she was mad to think somebody like Malfoy could turn her on. Nobody with such aristocratically handsome features and an air of arrogance which made heads follow his every move could ever turn her on…

Draco let her go and run a hand through his hair before pushing himself off of her, Hermione let out a breath she wasn't even aware of holding. She was on edge and it was messing with her – she needed to find a way out of this situation before things got too convoluted, before she started to think of Draco as a hot-blooded man and not an annoyance to her ordered life.

The rest of their trek was made in almost complete silence, Hermione glowering behind a flagging Malfoy. She refused to ask if he wanted to stop to rest, her kindness for the year had reached its quota. After another forty minutes they finally came across one of the widest rivers she'd ever seen. Thankful as they flung themselves from the tree-line on top of a small incline she saw a small shanty-type set-up, and by small Hermione meant three tin sheds and a jetty with a few boats scattered around it. She was just grateful they'd come across something which could help them – not stumbled upon another curve in the river that they would have to follow to civilisation.

She watched as Draco staggered slightly then righted himself almost immediately; the spark of concern in her chest didn't go unnoticed by her. He was an arse why should she care if he was hurt? Although he did get knocked out quite spectacularly. The fact he was complaining bitterly under his breath about something helped squash the annoying concern for him aside – it would not do to get too attached to the blonde arrogant man. They were reluctant partners at the moment, but she hadn't forgotten the many years of dislike which preceded it. She would be foolish to let go completely and actually admit she kind of liked Draco's brash personality – which of course she didn't.

"Right, there has to be somebody around with a phone or an Owl or something." Draco mumbled as they stumbled down the small path towards the nearest shed.

Hermione was too weary and annoyed to tell Draco she thought the place was deserted, the boats all had covers over the outboards – plus, what wizard would be sitting out here with an owl – she wasn't sure fly-fishing was on most Ministry employee's to-do list.

After ten minutes of searching the three small sheds and finding nothing but fishing gear, Draco sat down on an upturned drum rubbing his eyes in tiredness. They were both at breaking point, and needed to rest. She was ready to slap Draco if he complained about one more thing, she thought she had acted like a saint so far – it would have been so easy to strangle him in his sleep. A big wet drop hit Hermione's forehead and she felt the small spark of anger burn brighter – suddenly it bucketed down, drenching them in seconds - _perfect_.

To top off the weariness Hermione felt in her bones, the tree line at the top of the small hill they'd come over began to shake and rustle as five men slammed through running. Hermione didn't even need to look to know they were the men who were after them; it was just one of those days. Draco looked up, and his tired grey eyes narrowed.

"Bloody hell, do they not give up?"

"Apparently not," Hermione snapped back, and when she saw Draco glance around slightly dazed and confused at where they should go, she grunted and looked over the boats quickly before deciding and pulling Draco out onto the jetty which she swore was held together with nothing but thumb tacks. It swayed from side to side making Hermione falter and Draco fall to his knee once before she led him to the boat she had spied earlier.

"There's bigger boats, you twit – why pick this one, we'll be caught in seconds," Draco sneered at the small craft she pushed him into. Instead of giving him an answer which she knew would contain too many large rude words she threw off the cover to the outboard motor. She chose right, the engine was about 200hp and much too fancy and large for the size of the craft they were on – but Hermione needed speed and needed it now. She was thankful that some fishermen were typical guys and wanted the biggest motor to show off. Glancing back at the men she started the engine then saw somebody who wasn't part of the original ambush – a wizard complete in wizarding robes, it looked almost funny in their current surrounds. Then Hermione noticed him brandishing a wand – she even felt sick from here – but that was because she recognised the wand – it was hers.

"What are you doing?" Draco's voice pulled her back into the now, she was standing up and almost out of the boat – ready to challenge this wizard who held her wand as if it were his own. Then she saw him point it in their direction – Hermione jumped down and slammed the boat into gear and sped off, zigzagging across the water – trying to make it hard for a shot. The engine had some kick and the wake of the waves almost flooded the back of the craft, but Hermione had experience and guided them out deeper. The murky water around them danced as bullets and spells hit, but by some grace of the goddess they remained un-hit – which was a miracle, they were practically sitting ducks. It made her wonder if the wizard using her wand had any idea how to actually use a wand, which was stupid, because he clearly could send spells from it.

As soon as they were out of range and cruising down the river Draco suddenly leapt up and grabbed the front of her jacket pulling her towards him harshly, she almost lost her grip on the accelerator. "What the fuck was that?"

If she wasn't so angry at the idiot, she'd have wondered if there was the smallest amount of worry in his voice, although it was hard to tell through the fury of his words. "He had my wand, Draco – my freaking wand. I've had that since I was eleven, Merlin it's more valuable to me than all the money in your bloody vault, and I'm just meant to let him have it? You know what this means - he knows who I am, where I stayed – hell, he's probably gone through my underwear by now."

"No wand is worth more than that, Granger, my vault is….Christ, you always make me go off topic – what the hell is it….Look, I'm sure beige undies are not on his radar, the point here is you almost got us caught – _think,_ Granger. You're not the only person here." He punctuated 'think' with a finger jab to her forehead. Red took over her vision.

She pushed Malfoy away from her; he fell to the bottom of the small craft as she threw the boat sideways, taking huge satisfaction as his head hit the side again. He growled and got to his knees, Hermione knew immediately she'd pushed too far – but to hell with it, he'd pushed first. No one assumed she wore ugly boring beige panties, nice underwear was a weakness she had – she spent more on it than most people paid to refurnish their house.

Just as Malfoy gained his balance on his knees and started to go for her again, something stopped him dead in his tracks – he was looking over her shoulder. Hermione felt dread pit in her gut and spun around seeing four boats begin to pursue them. Their anger at each other suddenly seemed like the most trivial thing in the world. Hermione was tired beyond all comprehension – but the sight of those small crafts gave her such a burst of adrenaline, "do you still have the shot-gun?"

Draco's gaze stayed watching behind her – he didn't hear her over the roar of the engine, when she yelled it again he looked at her sharply then nodded. He was back in the game. As they sliced across the top of the water, Draco came and positioned himself next to Hermione at the back – trying to find a good place to fire a shot off. There was less bumping of the waves at the base of the boat – but he had to almost sit on her lap – and this disturbed her why? They had maniacs chasing after them with intent to kill and she was getting flustered by Malfoy sitting next to her closely, which was stupid considering she had woken up spread all over him that morning – Hermione needed to get out more if the fluttering in her stomach was anything to go by. She also had to forget what it was like to wake up with Malfoy – it was the second time in half an hour she'd brought it up to herself and it left her wondering why.

"This is bullshit," he yelled to her, as he loaded two shells – like an expert at Muggle guns Hermione noticed, wondering once again how Malfoy knew such things. "I mean, what are we – two relic hunters who hate each other, right? Not bloody spies – I'm no James Bond."

Hermione was taken aback – how in hell did Malfoy know who 007 was, a Muggle spy character? A niggle in the base of her brain asked – who was this man and where the hell was that little arrogant boy who'd called her a Mud Blood? The puzzle she held labelled 'Draco Malfoy' was starting to not fit together, the pieces were jumbled and she didn't like it at all – it felt like the world had tilted on its axis and everything was out of whack. Draco was still yelling at her over the engine.

"Now we have to stop a crazy arsed wizard from getting this relic, which is really starting to chaff my skin by the way. We are in the middle of nowhere, on a river with two guns, no wands and nothing but our wits. Which by the way I have more of than you."

She ignored his wise-crack and realised for the first time in…ever - Malfoy wasn't being a cock on purpose, he was almost chatting to her; like they didn't hate each-others guts. She knew they had to start trusting the other to a certain degree – they'd be dead in two minutes flat if they didn't come to an agreement. But a friendly conversation – his dead relatives from four hundred years ago would be turning in their graves at the thought.

"What a fucking rush," he finally yelled into the space behind them as he cocked the gun.

"A rush?" Hermione yelled back, he flipped her a half grin and the boat lurched as she accidently let off the accelerator. _Damn him. _He must have forgotten who he was with for a moment because in the eighteen or so years she'd known Draco, he finally looked carefree, his hair whipped around his head as he leaned back in the boat trying to line up one of the wizards crafts through the shotguns site. She felt a sharp stab of excitement in her stomach. How on earth he managed to make her insides burst into butterflies she didn't know – but this very second as they raced across the rainy river in god knows where, Hermione let it slide. She was starting to wonder when she was going to collate all this data she'd inadvertently begun to collect about Draco; and what would she have at the end.

It was still raining heavily and Hermione had to admit through the terror she felt at being chased, there was also a thrill about it; she'd not lived like this – ever. She shielded her eyes with a hand to see through the rain and had to swerve to avoid a fallen tree in the river and as she did so Draco fired off a shot.

She heard a shattering of wood, and quickly glanced behind her to see one boat careening off to the side, a large hole appearing on the water line at the front of it. She couldn't help being impressed. "Nice shot," she heard herself yell without meaning to.

"Of course it was," he replied with a laugh. The butterflies all died at once as his arrogance took over again. She wasn't at all surprised. But it _was_ a good shot, she admitted bitterly.

The boat lurched again and Hermione heard a loud screech from underneath them, she felt fear grip her – she knew what that noise meant – she'd spent enough time on the water with her father growing up to know what was happening.

"Malfoy, hold on – rocks!"

He got off one last shot which went wild before falling to the floor again as the boat pitched. Hermione was trying her best to avoid the larger outcrops of rocks, but it was near on impossible – they had somehow stumbled upon rapids. Hermione didn't even know what river they were on, so had no idea which way they should have travelled - up stream or down; it looked like she chose wrong though. She didn't even think to ask Malfoy if he still had the EMS – it was too late now anyway. Draco climbed up to the front of the boat, and began to point out directions so she would miss most of the rocks – it helped, marginally.

Then she saw small ricochets in the river, and the bright lights which meant spells. One boat had gained on them, most likely using a spell to avoid the rocks – she felt her adrenaline reserves start to wane. It would be impossible to beat them without the use of magic.

Then the rocks stopped as the river levelled out again, Hermione saw Draco make a motion to flatten the gear – so she did. Her heart was in her throat as they sped along the river faster than she thought she would ever do in an unfamiliar body of water. Every safety protocol her father had ever taught her was thrown out the window as she tried her best to outrun the wizard in the next boat by pure skill and horsepower. To her utmost surprise it was working, they were slowly gaining distance.

Malfoy slid back down towards her, the German's gun now in his hand, it was a semi-automatic and she knew they both felt better at having at least one more weapon up their sleeves.

"Two of the other boats got caught on the rocks; we only have the one after us now, although there are more rapids up ahead – we need to get away from them – why hasn't he used the bloody wand properly?" As Draco yelled this to her she felt the boat lose its shaky balance on top of the water, they'd hit the next lot of rapids – and these were huge.

Hermione did the only thing she could and slowed down – lest they get ripped apart on top of the rocks. This unfortunately made sure the other boat caught up to them within minutes. Draco looked at her a moment and started to yell something – but she couldn't hear. He raised the gun and tried to let off a stream of bullets – it was empty and they had no clips. She saw him yell in fury and she knew exactly how he felt.

Suddenly a huge bang sounded over the high pitched engine noise and Hermione watched in horror as the boat they were sitting in started to come apart in the middle. A spell had finally landed and was eating the boat into nothingness. Just as it almost touched Draco's leg, they both jumped up – the boat lurching as she let go of the accelerator. Already on the move Draco grabbed her and pitched them over the edge into the waters below.

Silence, strange and whirling hit her ears as her head went under the water, it was like escaping into another world. She had a moment to hope there were no predators in the water before her head popped up on the surface. The rapids which seemed reasonably big in the boat appeared huge and all-encompassing now that she was on their level.

She flew down the river narrowly avoiding rocks where she could, feeling like a ragdoll in a washing machine. She really had no control and if the goddess wanted her smashed against a rock, Hermione could do nothing to stop it. She'd lost Draco – she had no idea where he was – the few moments her head was above the waterline she saw nothing except the other boat finally pulling apart as the rocks became too large to navigate over with spells. She saw the wizard appear on the shoreline with a few of the men. She knew things were bleak that despite the relief she felt knowing her wand wasn't broken it was still in enemy hands. She had a split second to wonder why he hadn't Apparated to their boat or immobilized them instead of chasing them, but it really didn't matter at that moment. He threw a few spells in her direction but none hit their mark; then she was underwater again. Mother Nature was one hell of a cover.

Gasping for air she bobbed to the surface, and realised the water had smoothed out once more – she looked frantically around for Draco but couldn't see him. Her stomach tightened – was he dead? She didn't think too long on why this disturbed her so much, considering not twenty minutes earlier she'd been imagining killing him herself. She didn't even think about the relic which was strapped to him – she just tried to see his blonde head bobbing along – she couldn't. After everything they had just experienced in the last 24 hours she felt a strange connection form between the two of them. Sure it wasn't based on trust or friendship, hell it wasn't even based on mutual like. It was two people thrust into a violent situation who suddenly found themselves on the run, it was an adrenaline-ship - one she was surprised to realise she wasn't ready to give up on.

It took her a moment, as she slid through another not so rough patch of rapids, to figure out why the river had decided to smooth out.

Panic hit – it hit hard and fast.

Just as she tried desperately to stroke out for the shore which she knew with a sinking heart was too far away, she saw Draco – he was trying to swim towards her. Her relief at seeing him alive was short lived. She yelled, hands waving in the air, head bobbing underneath every time she jumped up.

"Don't follow me, go to the shore," she screamed, he didn't falter. "It's a fucking waterfall – go back!"

She didn't get to see whether Draco heard her or not as she turned around and smacked into a huge rock, just as the river started its rapid pace of hitting the no-return zone of the waterfall. Hermione tried to keep her eyes open, but she'd hit the rock hard, and as the roaring of the waterfall rose up around her – she felt blackness cloak her.

* * *

Draco surfaced just as he saw Hermione bobbing in the water yelling at him, did the silly witch not realise he couldn't hear her over the roar of the waterfall…._the what?_

His heart jackhammered in his chest when he realised Hermione was going to go right over – and there was nothing he could do. He swam towards her and it was only when he got marginally closer that he realised he'd just completely ballsed up his own escape plan. Not for one second did he think about how he was going to get out of this. His first reaction was to get his partner, then get to safety. He ignored the little question-mark which blinked at calling Granger his partner in this. Well, what the hell else could he call the stupid twit, his enemy? Not for some time - he realised in a moment of clarity. Why in hell was it that as you faced a life and death moment you have a second of clarity – he didn't hate Granger – just really disliked her – it changed his perception of their relationship more so than if he'd been told he'd lost his magic. Next thing he knew he'd be calling her attractive…

Dislike or not, watching Granger die was not something Malfoy was willing to let happen – he had many more arguments and snide comments up his sleeve reserved just for her and if he didn't get the chance to say them – he may just explode. Although – he still blamed her for this situation, she was the one who got on the damn boat. Draco was still fighting his admiration at her boating skills, he hated it when people did things better than him – especially when that person was Granger. Next time he would steer the boat and show her exactly who was more skilled.

As he continued towards her he saw Hermione smack into a large boulder face first – Draco watched as her eyes fluttered shut and then she slumped in the water, limp and malleable. His stomach clenched for a split second - he swam faster.

It wasn't enough.

She went under just as the lip of the waterfall appeared – he watched helplessly as her body flew off the side down into god knows what. Draco braced himself and floated after her. Panic, fear and a strange quiet acceptance filled him as the edge appeared. Water roiled around him, loud, rough and cold, he snorted as water flew up his nose and he coughed. The current took over his body, he couldn't swim any way at all; he was stuck. Then the edge appeared – huge and unforgiving in front of him. Draco refused to shut his eyes – he wanted to look at his mortality front on.

He went over.

In the end Draco couldn't help but shut his eyes, his body was not his own – he felt weightless as the sensation of falling from a great height hit him, he couldn't breath – there was too much water and foam. Then quicker than he imagined he hit the ground – well that's what it felt like. He had tried to drop like a pin – but landed the way the mighty waterfall wanted him to. The water at the bottom churned, he felt beaten and bruised – sore and exhausted, but alive. He thought his knee may be twisted, hell it could be broken for all he knew. But he was alive – the thought exhilarated him, then he crashed – _Granger._

It was almost impossible to see anything under the fall of the water, white wash and foam filled his vision – the river had tapered into a narrower flow down the bottom, but it was still too huge to find one small unconscious witch. But he tried.

Taking in one huge deep breath he dived; reaching out and searching. He opened his eyes but could only see shapes – the water was still murky, it wasn't clear like a natural spring. Five times he tried this before despair at finding her started to take over.

"Granger, you stupid bint – where the fuck are you?" He yelled into the waterfall's wrath.

He dove again, this time he saw a murky shape further out from the actual fall, he swam for it – praying for the first time in his existence that he had found Granger. He had never ever wanted to see her small frame more than he did at that moment. He dived deeper and reached out, his hand meeting fabric. Relief fled through him and he ignored why he was so happy to find her – he reasoned he just didn't want to be the one to tell Potter his favourite book-worm had come to an untimely end. They had a shaky truce as it was – he couldn't imagine Potter's wrath if he told him he'd let Granger die.

Draco spun her around and without thought he grabbed her head between his palms and pressed his mouth over hers, breathing air into her lungs. He pulled her into a tight hug and jerked his arms around her back pushing her lungs. He exhaled again, _come on, breathe_ – whirling through his head as he swam for the surface. Suddenly she coughed, bubbles and water flying out of her mouth and nose, she looked at him wide eyed in panic for a moment as he grabbed her and pushed the last of his air into her mouth.

They broke the surface and Hermione pulled away, both of them gasping for air, her eyes were wide with a mixture of shock and something else. They were inches apart; his arms had somehow snaked around her waist as they swam for the surface and Hermione's own arms clung around his neck. She looked away and coughed up the last of the water in her lungs, gasping and holding onto him like if she let go she would fall back under the surface. Her eyes held an edge of crazy panic as she looked back at the drop they had survived. He couldn't imagine what she'd gone through – though he figured it would have been easier to be out of it than to be conscious for the whole trip down. He shivered at the memory then realised Granger was still being held rather close in his arms. She was upset and almost drowned, he would allow this one and only time of weakness with her. Then the thought she'd almost died slammed through him. He had literally just seen Granger nearly die – this thought settled wrongly through him and he didn't know why.

She was still sucking in large gulps of air, but looking less pale and he found a traitorous hand come up and push a tendril of wet hair away from her face – tucking it behind an ear – what was wrong with him?

Breathing heavily, Hermione's large chocolate brown doe eyes looked into Draco's, searching for something, he didn't know what. He seemed to be doing the exact same thing back; suddenly they flew at each other, lips meeting in a frenzy of heat and adrenaline.

* * *

Draco's lips were hot on her own, the pressure and intense heat they were creating making Hermione giddy. His hands tightened on her hips and pulled her in even closer, without thought Hermione felt her own legs envelope his waist, pressing her heat against him. It was the most insanely perfect moment in all the chaos. She still couldn't fathom they had survived the waterfall's drop, this thought soon fled as Draco's hot wet mouth started to attack her, she felt shards of lust run rampant through her.

Moving his lips against hers she felt his tongue gently coax open the seam of her mouth – the explosion of heat which curled through her insides took her by surprise. Every thought in her head disappeared except what she was experiencing right now – it was dangerous but she so very rarely let go completely. Hermione pulled herself up against him more, just so she was a little higher than him in the water and began to give him hot, wet, open mouthed kisses. He growled low in his throat as his hands skimmed up her sides barely coming in contact with her breasts, but close enough for her to wriggle in anticipation. Then his hands cupped the sides of her face as he pulled her down into a more direct line of kissing – he explored every part of her mouth and lips, it was making her lose reason – it was making her more turned on than she'd ever been in her entire lifetime. How had she lived and loved and never felt this insane electrifying connection with anyone?

She shifted again, feeling Draco's rock hard cock against her; it felt naughty and delicious at the same time. Merlin, did she do that with one hot kiss, _her_ – Hermione Granger – self-proclaimed good girl? She didn't feel like being good at the moment – she felt like being very bad. Her instincts kicked in and she pushed against his hardness, rubbing slightly making him groan, her own moan mirrored his, it sounded hot. Malfoy's growl was so deep and almost out of control, making sparks start in her stomach. She let her hands trail down the front of him, wriggling them between their bodies, until she found what she was searching for. Crap, he was huge, even with the cold water and tight pants – Hermione stifled an agonisingly lustful whimper. She felt his cock twitch under her hand as she squeezed experimentally through the fabric.

"Hermione, are you there? Bloody fucking useless Comm's."

"Christopher?" Jerking away from Draco, Hermione went red as Christopher's voice infiltrated her hazy mind. She let her leg drop, accidently hitting Draco's knee – he yelled in pain. He must have hurt it in the fall. There were a lot of things hazy in her mind at the moment – like why the fuck had she just jumped Malfoy? Had she forgotten her natural scorn for him as they inappropriately kissed – well maybe not all of him was to be scorned she amended – his lips were sinfully skilful and his cock was…_nothing to do with her, _she quickly thought. Oh god, she'd just been touching Draco Malfoy's family jewels – where the hell was her head? This was wrong, oh so wrong…_yet so right_, a voice counter-whispered.

Sending a quick thanks to Christopher for diffusing a situation which could only have ended awkwardly; she looked up and saw Draco quickly look away from her – but she'd seen enough. He appeared furious. She ducked her head as they slowly made their way to the edge of the rocky shore of the water. "Answer me," she hissed to Christopher. Nothing.

They were silent as they reached the edge of the river, but Hermione could feel her face burning bright red, she could feel the heat in it – she was mortified at her lack of control. It had to be the adrenaline of the moment – they had almost died after all. It was only natural to hold onto somebody who had experienced the same. That's all it was, she lied to herself – it wasn't something as ludicrous as her starting to like the bloody git…oh Merlin, she had a horrible suspicion she didn't hate him with her very being anymore. Malfoy saving her life kind of made all her arguments about hating him invalid. But that did not mean she wanted to kiss him _or_ anything else – the thought of that 'anything else' made her insides tight. Hermione needed a holiday.

Draco took a bit of time to lift himself out of the water, even with her help; he sat there on the edge for a moment holding his knee and definitely avoiding her gaze. "You shouldn't be throwing yourself at men if you already have a boyfriend, Granger."

She stood behind him absolutely stunned into silence, what the hell was he talking about – then it dawned, Christopher. Malfoy must have thought she said his name because she felt guilty. She went to explain herself then stopped – why bother.

"_You_ threw yourself at_ me_," she replied indignantly instead.

He spluttered and looked up at her, the arch of his eyebrow almost evil. She couldn't help her eyes which flicked to his lips, his soft, kissable – _damn it_. "I saved your bloody life – ungrateful witch. Trust me, the only reason my lips came anywhere near your hideous face was because I didn't want your rotting corpse stinking up my helicopter when I had to drag it home for the funeral."

"Bloody hell, it was just one _insignificant_ kiss – you're an arsehole by the way." Hermione retorted, furious that she was letting his words get to her, and ignoring the fact she had been rubbing against him like a wanton woman mere minutes ago.

"I'm Malfoy – what did you expect?"

For some reason Hermione thought he was being sarcastic, but was too angry to wonder why. So she did what she could and pushed aside the last five minutes and assessed what supplies they still had, which wasn't much. The EMS did survive, strapped to the back of Malfoy's belt; they also had the useless wand Hermione picked up from the man she'd knocked out. She didn't even realise that she'd automatically put it in her own wand's sheath on her thigh. They had no food, no shelter nothing else except the relic piece – still strapped to Draco. She definitely did not want to double check if it was still attached to his stomach – she was liable to do something else stupid – like touch his smooth skin…_enough._

"What do you make of this?" Hermione held up the wand which didn't work and watched as Draco's face turned from surly to introspective. He held out a hand and beckoned for it.

"I haven't seen one of these since I was a kid."

"What, a wand?" Hermione smirked.

Draco looked up at her scowling, "It's a training wand – they give them to Pure Blood children until they reach an age to see Ollivander. They have trace amounts of magic – why do you have one?"

Hermione ignored the pang of not knowing something about the wizarding world, although she wasn't 'Pure Blood' she bitterly thought. "It was from one of the wizards who attacked our tent."

Draco's frown deepened, "why would wizards use these – they are practice wands – you can't hurt yourself with them – at all…"

He pointed it at his leg and said a spell under his breath, his face instantly eased. "It can't do damage, it literally is to teach young wizards to heal, play nice, protect and explore."

"And you had one?" Hermione asked, unfortunately not keeping the bite from her tone.

"As much as this will shock the mighty know-it-all Granger – I _was_ a child once. We can't Apparate with it, but it may come in handy." Draco sprung to his feet, angry at her for some reason. She would never fully understand this Pillock in front of her, but a small part of her wanted to try – _yeah the insane part of her._

Hermione turned around to trek off into more forest when she came face to face with the robed wizard and two of his men standing directly behind her. She instantly froze and swore at the same time – seriously, this was getting ridiculous. Hermione looked at the dark haired middle-aged wizard and knew she'd never seen him before in her life. But the familiar unease in her stomach started the moment she came within a metre of him. Why did these men make her feel sick in the stomach?

"I believe you have something I'm after, Ms Granger." His crisp English 'how's your mother' accent startled her for a moment. Who the hell were these people – was this Raul? She obviously pictured somebody whose accent would match the name. It was odd to stand in front of a wizard in full robes, especially alongside a river in the middle of god knows where. Usually full dress robes were only used on special occasions, not since the war did people dress this way. It was now part of the integration with Muggles - she frowned completely confused - he even held her wand funny.

"It's rude not to introduce yourself, since you know who I am," Hermione knew she was pushing her luck.

He exhaled through his nose and lifted the wand up to chest height, _whoops._ Holding her wand wrong was not the issue here – it was still a weapon, she tried not to show panic. "Everybody in the wizarding world knows you and Mr Malfoy - now hand over the piece."

Christopher's voice suddenly barrelled through her eardrums. "The Chest – it's gone – Gringotts' has been breached! Merlin, Hermione if you can hear me – get the fuck out of there – come home – now!"

"Shit," Hermione breathed, would they catch a break – ever?

* * *

**A/N: Jeepers guys! The response has been phenomenal for this crazy little story - I can't even begin to thank you all enough!**

** Hope you all enjoyed this fast-paced chapter - and of course a sneaky kiss is always warranted after a death defying drop...although it's not a theory I want to test anytime soon!**

**As per usual I want to say how much I appreciate the followers, favourites, alerts and reviews you have all given me - I know it's redundant, but you are all the reason I continue to write these spy fictions - my muse thanks you! :)**


	4. Chapter 4

Hermione stood there, ears still ringing from Christopher's words. They had no choice but to keep this relic away from Raul, but how in hell were they supposed to escape? She needed to warn Draco that somebody had stolen the Grindle Chest and what he had strapped to his rather muscular chest was now the hottest artefact on the earth.

The wizard in front of her was holding her wand up, ready to strike – Hermione once again had no idea why he hadn't used it against them. It would take two seconds to immobilise them and steal the artefact from Draco. It made no sense, none what so ever. But, she wasn't going to look a gift horse in the mouth – if he didn't want to use her wand then so be it. She wondered idly if she could snatch it from him but a loud roar from the bushes stopped her, it sounded like an army had pulled up.

He stepped closer and Hermione felt bile rise, she told her stupid stomach to settle down. "Please, give it to me, I won't ask again politely."

"I have nothing," she replied steadily; then swallowed the thick sickness in her throat. She continued to stare at her wand, he saw and sneered slightly.

"Thank you for the wand – it's most…unusual."

She tried not to feel offended at his apparent dislike of her wand. It was fitted to her and no one else – that's why it felt wrong to him.

"So, Raul, what do you want with the Chest?" Hermione gambled.

The man threw his head back and barked out a short round of laughter. "I'm not Raul, but thank you. I am merely his servant, and what Raul wants – he gets. Now hand over the piece you found." The two men cocked their guns, Hermione gulped.

She needed an idea, something to get them away from these men – bloody hell, she wasn't a damn Ministry super spy; her brain just didn't work that way. Draco had gotten closer to her and suddenly his hand was on the small of her back – why in hell was he touching her, her heart was beating enough in fear to add something else like lust to it._ Mental, Hermione – you are damn mental and not in control of your thoughts and feelings._

Suddenly the wizard in front of her gasped and began to look around like he was crazy. "Where the hell are they? Find them; they shouldn't be able to disappear or Apparate."

_What?_ Maybe Hermione was not the mental one; she was standing right before him. The two men who flanked the robed wizard walked towards them, she felt Draco tug her to the side – away from the man who'd walked into the space she'd just vacated. His hand never left her.

One of the men turned to the wizard, "Use that thing in your hand."

"I can't – I might kill them and Raul wants them alive – I haven't quite mastered this bloody wand yet."

Hermione gasped and the men spun around to look at where she was standing – but instead of them yelling out 'ah-ha, caught you' they looked right through them where they were standing. Draco tugged her a little and wrapped a hand around the curve of her waist; it sent tingles all the way to her toes. Must be the cold water making her shiver, she thought.

It seemed obvious that this wizard couldn't use her wand – is that what he was trying to say? Surely she wasn't misunderstanding.

Suddenly another ten men armed to the teeth flew into the area, and even though these men did not appear to have wands or have any form of magic about their person – they knew how to hold a gun. Hired mercenaries, Hermione thought then panicked slightly. If they saw her and Draco – they were toast. But, Draco was tugging her into the bushes; she could do no more than follow as the men in front of them started to methodically search the area

As they quietly escaped, Hermione grabbed Malfoy's head and pulled his ear down to her mouth, ignoring the way his wet hair slapped against her face. "What the hell?"

"Not now." He whispered back and slanted his head at what lay just before them. Three large jeeps were parked with four men guarding, each of those men held a very big gun. Hermione didn't utter another word, apparently Draco had somehow turned them invisible – how, who knew. She was fighting down admiration at his quick thinking - until his next move.

"Distract them," he yelled and pushed her away from him.

"What?" Hermione skidded to a halt, right in front of the four men, who could now see her in her entirety. She was going to kill Malfoy – if these men didn't kill her first.

They looked at her like she was a ghost, seriously though, who expected a wet bedraggled woman to just appear out of nowhere right before your eyes? Unfortunately it didn't take them long to recover from their shock. What in hell was Draco doing…unless – he left her for dead and was escaping with the relic. Dread and hurt filled her chest – that's what he'd done, she knew it as sure as she knew her own mind.

But, Hermione Granger had faced worse odds in the war and even though she'd only really had a few self-defence classes and three punches over the last 24 hours to her name, she would fight like a wild-cat until they over-powered her, which judging by the size of two of them could be three to four seconds.

One sneered at her and strode forward, oh goody, they were going to take turns "Are you the small fry William has been trying to catch? Doesn't seem like a huge task to me."

Hermione had a moment to register that the wizard who had her wand was probably William when the large man flew at her. She ducked under his arm and swung around to face him again – he looked mildly amused. When she did this manoeuvre again two more times, he looked less pleased and a little pissed off. Hermione couldn't help if she was good at ducking and weaving.

The next time she tried this; he slammed out his arm at the last minute and clotheslined her. Luckily she also jumped a little as he did this, because instead of it hitting her in the throat it caught her collarbone and shoulders. Why this was lucky, she couldn't tell as it hurt like a mother. She landed flat on her back on the muddy ground. The rain still hadn't let up and it was really starting to piss Hermione off. As if this wasn't bloody hard enough in the first place she had to contend with the elements as well. The man stood above her smirking, Draco did it better.

"See, William should have sent a man for the job."

Hermione hated pigheaded morons and as he leant over to drag her upright, she flipped herself up onto her feet and spun towards him, dropping to her knees and punching with all her might. The big guy squealed like a stuck pig and fell to his knees holding his groin. Hermione pushed aside the feeling of smashing her fist into a man's junk – it was soft, squidgy and just not polite.

The shock on the other men's faces was apparent – but it didn't last long – they all flew at her at the same time. Hermione resisted the urge to scream like a girl, and instead made a run for it. She passed the first jeep, and they were hot on her heels, the second jeep and they were gaining – Hermione felt the exhaustion creep up – there was no way she could keep up this pace, she was done. She swore at Draco with everything in her – she had started to believe he was different but he turned out to be the same selfish bastard she always knew him to be, the same idiot….who pulled her around the last jeep – making her disappear again. The men ran past into the brush still chasing her, thinking she vanished into the bushes.

It took all of one second before Hermione slapped Draco as hard as she could, his eyes grew narrow as his grip intensified in anger; she interrupted him. "You fucking deserved that and much more."

His eyes widened in shock, at her swearing or the fact she was right, she didn't care. Then surprising her completely he nodded. "Maybe you're right, let's go."

He dragged her to the jeep sitting at the front of the others and quietly clicked open the door and pushed her inside first, she scrambled to the passenger seat and watched as he flung himself inside, started the engine and took off. Hermione looked out the back window and saw six or seven men barge in from the riverside and jump into jeeps, they all started to give chase, until they got bogged down into the mud. Hermione frowned and looked at Draco as he smiled slightly, eyes on the road.

"I punctured their tyres; it will take them a good twenty minutes to use all the spares to give chase."

Hermione tried hiding a small grin, _that's why he disappeared and thrust her out like a lamb to slaughter._ It was still a dick move, but once again it worked. Somehow it seemed somebody was watching over them, she could hardly believe they had escaped yet another ambush. They were tempting fate holding onto the relic, but who could they call…Herbert? Christopher? Harry?

Draco had the wipers on full trying to make the rain splatter less obtrusive, but it was almost a torrential downpour now, and he had to be careful over the terrain in case they also got bogged down. Hermione watched as he mastered the gear lever and checked his mirrors constantly for a tail.

"You've done this before?" she found herself asking.

He gave her a sharp look and didn't answer. Each to their own, she thought - they all had secrets, but she desperately wanted to know a few more of his - for purely professional reasons of course. Her eyes slid to his lips again and she averted her eyes almost immediately.

As the jeep crashed through small trees and mud-piles, Hermione tried the Comm again, dead. She was going to contact the company who made them and put in a formal complaint at its inconsistent performance, although, it had been through quite a lot of non-compliant situations.

"How did you turn us invisible?" She finally asked, curious.

"The wand – like I said it can't do damage but it has some uses. Not just _anyone_ can do an invisibility spell with them."

Hermione grimaced a little, he was such a cocky bastard – then she was mortified to realise she was starting to get used to his arrogance. The world had definitely started spinning the opposite direction.

Thinking it was best to fill Draco in on what Christopher had screamed in her ear, she noticed the air in the cab grow thick as she relayed his message.

"What do you mean Gringott's has been broken into?" Draco asked squinting as he slid the jeep sideways trying to miss a huge mud pile.

"Exactly what I said," Hermione replied snippily.

"Impossible."

"_We_ did it at Hogwarts."

Draco's eyes narrowed slightly, "but you were kids then."

"Well doesn't that imply adults could do it better?" Her eyebrow rose in a perfect mimic of the one he usually gave her.

"That's not what I meant – I mean _after_ your attempt..."

Exasperation set in, "It worked; it wasn't an attempt…"

"Whatever, Granger that's semantics – after that, Gringotts went into lock-down and made sure nobody could ever break in again." He ended with a flourish of his hand, a gesture she found old worldly and slightly appealing. _Get a grip, woman._

Hermione couldn't help the heavy sigh she let out; at Draco or her inappropriate reactions to him she wasn't sure. That damn kiss had messed with her equilibrium; _don't think about that bloody now. _"Well, obviously they still have a problem with wizards getting in."

"_Obviously_," he drawled.

They drove in silence after that.

* * *

Draco ignored Hermione for as long as possible, which unfortunately was proving to be difficult. His cock was obviously in charge of his brain at the moment and all he could think about was her hot open-mouthed kisses as she playfully grasped his hardness through his pants. Draco grumbled and adjusted himself surreptitiously. He did not like the fact he'd discovered Granger was actually a sexual creature, one he was starting to want to experience first-hand. Maybe the Weasel was onto something all those years ago. Before he did something ludicrous like proposition the witch he heard a small ping on the back of his jeep.

"What was that?" Hermione asked as she spun in her seat. "Oh shit…" she breathed at the same time Draco looked in the rear view mirror and said the same thing.

Two jeeps were after them. Fuck, there were more men on route, Draco had hoped they would have had a better head start but didn't count on this Raul wizard to be well financed to afford all these goons.

Another ping sounded, followed closely by two more before the back window suddenly shattered in a hail of glass. He didn't even think – Draco threw his arm over Granger and pulled her down in her seat while he dodged the next hail of bullets by almost driving off the side of the road into the trees. He was getting sick of being chased.

As Draco drove as fast as he humanly thought possible on the treacherous path – which he swore was the first time it had been driven on in years, he looked out for other intersecting roads. He found he was at a complete loss on where the fuck they were. They needed to find a way out of the forest – quick. They also needed a town to disappear into before they made their next move, which he already had an inkling on what it would be.

Hermione reached over and started scrambling with the belt on his trousers: he couldn't help the almost ironic bubble of laughter which fled his lips. "I get I'm impressive, Granger – but now's not the time."

She scowled up at him muttering something about being a 'conceited prat', then finally undid his belt, sliding the EMS off of it, how stupid – he'd all but forgotten the device. Draco decided he liked Hermione's face in his lap – a thought which disappeared as bullets slammed into the side of the cab; one of the jeeps had managed to gain on them.

As Hermione booted up the device he hoped like hell it hadn't been water damaged – although he knew it had been tested for the worst conditions – he'd tested it himself. But being thrown around in the water and crashing to the bottom of a fall was something he hadn't tested – who could have believed a mapping system would need to do that. He watched as she shook it and slammed her palm on the side a few times and he felt an uncomfortable feeling well up – it was disappointment. One of his devices wasn't up to par. He'd have to talk to his head researcher when he got home – _if_ he got home.

"Finally," Hermione breathed; then started to tap out things on the screen. "The screen has a small crack, and it's got condensation on the inside, but it seems to be working." He breathed a small sigh of relief.

Draco wrenched the wheel and headed down another road which he saw from the corner of his eye, Hermione threw her hand out to stop herself from falling into him – she grasped his shoulder pushing her weight against him. He gunned it, and they straightened. She didn't let go immediately, and he didn't ask her to.

"Right, the GPS has connected – go left in about three hundred metres, then a sharp right about ten metres after that, then head straight, before a another lefty."

Draco nodded not questioning her directions, "Is there any land-marks or anything useful we can use on that thing?"

He watched as one jeep overshot his sharp turn and the other followed on his heels – he noticed in the distance the other jeep spun around – _damn it. _He then saw a man climbing up onto the passenger window of the jeep, a large gun perched on his shoulder.

"No fucking way….." Draco whispered.

Hermione spun again, "What the fuck is that thing – is that a grenade launcher?"

"No, but it may as well be at this distance – we need to do something," Draco's eyes never left the man holding the gun while he felt Hermione's hand help guide the wheel, keeping it steady for the moment as he watched. He saw the moment the man fired and after a nano-second ripped the wheel to the left – the road before them exploded in a shower of mud and dirt, Draco swerved around the divot and kept going, seeing the turn Granger had pointed out.

"Shit, crap, bugger – there is nothing bloody on this damn thing that can help us." Hermione kept punching things into the EMS. Draco almost laughed – her swearing was ridiculous, especially when she let out the F word when not realising it. He squashed his thoughts – she was not funny, appealing or interesting – fuckable, yes – but nothing else. Draco knew the adrenaline of the situation was playing games with him; that was the only explanation for his sudden interest in the witch – and the fact she'd grabbed his cock – _get your head in the game Malfoy._

"There is more forest, then more forest – the only other thing out here is a huge expanse of open ground – like I mean huge, we'd be sitting ducks."

"Anything out there – like a town?" Draco was still hoping to hide in civilisation.

"Nothing but a damn train track, no town for miles and miles, do another right in about two hundred metres." She pointed out in front of them; he glanced in the mirror.

Draco swerved again as another shot of dirt flew up and above just to their right. "We can't stay here – we need to get out of the forest – take our chances in the open."

Hermione eyed him warily, "you have a plan don't you?"

"Not at all - I'm just hoping to catch the next train out of here." He said with a grin while ripping the jeep down another path, narrowly missing another spray of gunfire.

"Merlin help us." He heard Granger whisper and he smirked.

* * *

Hermione was in a perpetual state of panic, unease and fear for her life. This jeep ride was the scariest experience of her life, she kept watching out the back window – seeing only one jeep at the moment. They had taken so many sharp twists and turns she was completely lost – although that wouldn't have been hard as she'd been lost since Draco had thrown her off the mountain.

God had that only been a day or so ago – so much had happened since then. She felt like she'd lived and learned an entire lifetimes worth of things in that space. She chanced another glance at Malfoy – she had started to discover things about the enigmatic wizard next to her, but questions still barged around her head. Questions she wanted answered.

They hit the open space a few moments later, Draco still weaving away from the bullets where he could; Hermione once again glanced behind her, then let her gaze drop for the first time to the back seat – _for the love of…._

A gun sat there – a shiny new looking gun – she threw herself into the back seat amidst Malfoy yelling at her.

"What the fuck, Granger, get back in the front – you'll get yourself killed."

She ignored him as she looked at the gun – she'd used rifles in the past with her dad, surely this wouldn't be too different. She wasn't shooting to kill anyway – she just wanted them to back off a bit. Hermione was infinitely glad in that moment her dad always wanted a son and got her instead – he'd still taken her camping, shooting and fishing – her tomboy childhood could just save their lives.

Lining up her shot was hard as they were no longer on a road – just bumping across land, wet land with huge puddles of water Draco was avoiding. She let off a few shots – the kick back was a bitch and she felt her shoulder crunch, what was one more injury, she thought wryly. The jeep did back off slightly, she could see the second jeep finally follow them in the distance.

Suddenly a loud hooting noise rammed through her eardrums, turning around she felt her mouth drop open – a train – a massive huge locomotive was up ahead, Draco spun the wheel so they started to drive adjacent to it.

He pulled it back a gear and she heard the high whine of acceleration and he flattened it – slowly, carriage by carriage they were passing the train.

"Keep shooting…" he yelled over the infinitely loud clacking of the train less than two metres away from his window.

"You are fucking crazy," Hermione retorted, but lined up another shot, and ducked as she saw the muzzle flash of returning fire heading for them. Draco jerked a little to avoid most of the bullets, but it was starting to take its toll on the poor jeep.

She fired back at them and watched in amazement as a bullet hit the radiator, steam started to flow from the hole, but it didn't stop them – not yet – and she was out of ammunition.

As she climbed back into the front seat Hermione saw they had passed five of the six locomotives pulling the train – it must have been massively long to require that towing power.

"What's the plan?" she yelled over the noise, he glanced at her smirking, and she looked once more at the position they were in. Then squealed, "Oh no you don't"

Her voice was lost as they finally pulled out in front of the main engine; she saw in the distance a crossing and swallowed her heart which somehow was now lodged in her throat. "You have got to be bloody kidding me."

Draco hadn't replied to her at all and she knew why – he was concentrating, he was focused and he was going to get her killed. But as much as fear and adrenaline was choking her, she somehow felt a calm respect that he wouldn't be doing this unless he was sure it was the only option. Here she was, openly trusting the biggest pain in her arse to save them. She shut her eyes and sent another prayer to the goddess.

"Come on, come on…" she heard Malfoy whispering under his breath, they were now a few meters before the train and the crossing was coming up fast – too fast. In a last ditch effort Draco slammed it into the last gear and held on for dear life. The jeep shook from the bumpy land, from the speed from being shot up beyond all belief – but it held and still had more speed left in it. Hermione knew as soon as she made it back to England she was selling her car and buying a Jeep – they were almost indestructible.

She couldn't help the scream which left her throat as Draco jerked the wheel and they flew up the small gravel incline and with a whisker of space between them and the train they flew across the crossing on an angle – jumping off the other side. The train blew its whistle furiously at them, but Hermione's vision was completely on their airborne status. The jeep touched down and almost rolled as Draco wrestled it back under his control.

"Holy fucking shit – I can't believe that worked," he whooped, while twisting the wheel and stepping on the accelerator, once more lining up next to train on the other side. Hermione was too angry to wonder why they weren't escaping across the land in the opposite direction.

"What the hell does that mean? You didn't think it would work?!"

"Doesn't matter, it did in the end." His sparkling grey eyes met hers and she itched to slap him – but couldn't due to the fact she didn't want their jeep to slam into the train if he lost his grip on the wheel. She kept staring at him and his smile dropped – although his eyes still twinkled and Hermione tried desperately to ignore the tightening in her stomach at his unguarded excitement. _What a stupid time for rouge hormones to take hold._ "Hand me the gun."

Hermione frowned, and at his impatient gesture leaned back and grabbed it. "What do you need this for…" she trailed off as she watched Draco shove the back of the gun against the accelerator and pushed the muzzle into the seat – he slowly lifted his foot away, the jeep slowed marginally but kept going.

"Now don't get all pissy with me – I need you to listen."

Hermione had stopped listening – eyes wide as saucers, knowing what was about to happen. She'd seen enough Muggle movies in her time; and to hell if she would be doing it – especially without stuntmen.

"You got that?"

She wanted to shake her head and say no, she hadn't heard a word, but Draco was already crouching on the driver's seat while holding the steering wheel in place. He gestured for her to move up to the window – she was going to die, she was certain.

Having no idea how she got the guts to slide out and sit on the open window from, her blurry vision looked at the train next to her, they were going a tiny bit slower than it, so she would have to time this right. Hang on – she wasn't going to be doing this at all, but why was her fingers balling into a fist and loosening in anticipation of grabbing one of the metal hand holds? She felt Draco's hand on her leg and started – god, don't touch her now, her nerves were just frayed endings.

He watched her, seeing the panic in her eyes and something shifted behind his penetrating gaze. "Granger, you are the most infuriating witch on the planet, yet you bloody helped take down Voldemort who was a fuck-load more dangerous than jumping onto a train. Now stop being a pussy and fucking do it."

Fury rose, it basked through her body – Draco Malfoy was an absolute wanker. And before she thought about anything else she had pushed herself out of the window of the car, balancing precariously on unsteady feet on its sill as her hand wrapped around the roll bar on the top to keep her balance. Taking in a shaking gasp of breath she flew through the air hitting the train hard. Her grip almost didn't hold. Jerking your entire body weight is a hell of a lot easier on gym equipment. But she managed to hold on to the small hand hold, finding a foot hold was worse and she didn't have time to look back at the jeep as she scrambled to place her legs somewhere – she finally felt a protrusion and rested her weight on it while she spun around.

Draco was still sitting on the window – his leg outstretched holding the steering wheel in place – although not very successfully – the jeep kept jumping around. As the car lost speed Hermione panicked – what if Draco didn't get on board.

Then he suddenly pushed off and grasped the next carriage down from her – the jeep thankfully due to Draco's foot pushing on the wheel started to bump across the plain away from the train. All they needed was for it to hit the train and create an explosion, one they wouldn't be able to escape from. She felt relief flood her that Draco had managed to get across – only because she didn't want to be alone in a foreign country hanging on the side of a train who knows where. No, she was lying – she somehow didn't want to lose Malfoy, he was surprisingly resourceful and her only link to a normal life. Hell, when Malfoy became your only link to the known, things were bad.

He gestured for her to climb to the top. It was the only way to go so she complied. Once on the roof she stopped, and waited until he motioned for her to climb his way and meet him between the carriages. Wind whipped around her body, her braid slapping into her face as the train barrelled across the landscape – what the hell was she doing? Living – and surviving, she answered for herself, it was a heady sensation.

She climbed down between the carriages – it was an old train and they were near the back – hopefully not anywhere near passengers – explaining themselves would be hard. Their clothes were mud-caked, ripped in places and they looked like terrorists. Draco opened one door – it was full of luggage, Hermione hoped no sensors went off at the door opening, although judging by the age of the carriage she was sure no one saw.

Once they were inside and safe, Hermione rounded on Draco, but before she could get off her third slap of their two day ordeal he had her pushed up against a stack of suitcases. His hands grasped her elbows, and held her still. She was furious with him and he knew it.

"Calm down, Granger."

"You goaded me into jumping, you prick."

"It worked didn't it?" he said with a hint of exasperation.

She didn't want to answer him because it was true. Draco sighed, the last of the adrenaline fading away as they had finally stopped running. She slumped a little, no longer wanting to hit him. Then she realised he was still holding her upright, pushing himself slightly into her. She looked at his mouth without even meaning too, how could she go from wanting to throttle him to devouring his lips in the space of a minute? Draco noticed.

"What is it Granger, you still thinking about that kiss?" Malfoy leant in closer and her stomach began to quiver, his fringe fell in his eyes and he let go of one of her arms to tuck it behind his ear absently all while never losing her gaze. She didn't try to escape. He was so close the puff of his breath tickled her lips – somehow this was more erotic than his mouth actually pressing against hers. His hips aligned with hers as much as they could with his height, and held her against the wall of bags. "Remember, it was just one small _insignificant_ kiss…"

His lips barely touched hers before he smirked against her, and she couldn't hold her tongue. "It seems more than insignificant if you're coming back for more."

He chuckled and she felt it all the way to her groin. "I'm merely a man, Granger – if it's flaunted in my face I'm going to take it."

Suddenly Malfoy pulled back, making her almost topple over. He was such a prick, she was not flaunting anything, and he knew it. How in hell did he get to her – how did he manage to make her lose her mind? Hell if they were back in London, back in her office even, the sound of Malfoy's name being said within her earshot was something to scowl over. But here, in the middle of nowhere fighting for their lives, fighting to stop a crazy wizard from getting the relic they'd found, he seemed to be able to make her knees weak and her heart stutter with just a whisper of a kiss. Merlin, she just _might_ want to sleep with this wizard – just the once, just to get it out of her system. Before her thought had finished she had already vetoed it, sleeping with Malfoy would be a mistake, a very big one. _But, don't you learn from your mistakes _another voice asked? _See, this is why you never let people save your life, _she told herself - you felt a connection with them, warranted or not. Two days ago she wanted to slap Malfoy into oblivion now today after a few near misses and high adrenaline she let the errant thought of sex creep in.

She watched as Draco stripped off his shirt and unbuckled the relic from his chest – _bloody hell, _she was already fighting with herself, she didn't need Draco's body…she averted her eyes – his perfect body she realised, tempting her any more.

But she was a glutton for punishment and she looked at him again, that was when she saw him wince as he turned his back towards her while he felt around his side – there was a huge blood splatter marring his pale skin. She ran to him.

"Malfoy – you've been shot – why the hell didn't you say anything?" Hermione saw the tiredness take him over as he slumped a little, his face going pale. "Where's that damn healing kids wand you had."

"In the Jeep I think," his eyes closed then opened again as she slapped his arm.

"Sorry," she said hastily, "but you're a moron." Hermione was furious, she knew she had to see if the bullet was still in there – but how on earth was she supposed to do this. She glanced at her surrounds – they were in a damn luggage carriage not in first aid. Draco slumped and she left him on the ground. She couldn't believe he'd manage to pull off that escape while having a bullet lodged in his side. He was made of more than just arrogance and superiority. Damn this many layered man, she thought as she started to go through bags.

Ten minutes later she found what she wanted, a bottle of absinthe, some tweezers and a sewing kit. There was clothing strewn around and personal belongings everywhere as she tore through the bags – she was glad she wasn't on this train as a passenger.

Looking at the wound again she saw it was small, and was thankful it was a clean entry wound – shrapnel she might not be able to handle. Pouring the alcohol over the tweezers and the wound she ignored Draco's small semi-conscious hiss, and began to probe. She almost threw up twice, pushing a small metal spike into a fleshy wound oozing blood was horrific – she couldn't even watch any Dr series on TV. She felt the clink of the bullet and it took three go's to get a hold of it, each time Draco flinching without knowing.

She had no idea whether anything major had been damaged inside of him, but the blood wasn't gushing, so it seemed ok. Stitching him up was much easier on her stomach, but she wasn't good at sewing either – he'd have a scar most likely – but it was something he could fix at some point if he wanted.

Exhausted she sat back leaning against a large feminine fur-coat and placed Draco's head on her lap to monitor his breathing. Glancing down at his body she noticed a few other marks and scars; she frowned slightly – they didn't look like childhood scrapes, some actually looked quite pink and recent. What had Malfoy been getting into – trouble when relic hunting? She had a few scrapes but nowhere near the amount he had. She soon had to avert her eyes again; she didn't want his chest to be ingrained in her memory, although somehow she knew now she'd seen him semi-naked it would be hard to forget it.

As her eyes closed, she felt Malfoy snuggle into her lap and she dropped off to sleep – finally feeling safe for the first time in days. She didn't even notice when he slowly opened his eyes and watched her for the longest moment, as if he were seeing her for the first time.

* * *

**A/N: Hey everyone! Man, I keep putting these two through the wringer - it's so much fun though! Hope you all enjoyed the chapter - I think this one practically wrote itself, one minute I was thinking - what can I do to these two, next minute a massive train pulled up!**

**Thanks again to all you wonderful souls who alerted, favourited, followed and of course reviewed! Many hugs to you all x**

**As always I love to hear what you think! On that note have a great Easter however you spend it - and try not to fall into chocolate comas! :)**


	5. Chapter 5

Hermione awoke with a start and took a few moments to figure out exactly where she was. Her lap was empty; Draco nowhere to be seen. Sitting up rather groggily, Hermione felt like she had finally slept for more than half an hour - her body was grateful for the respite. She tried to stave off the memory of Draco snuggling into her, and her letting him – so she looked around instead of remembering his warmth.

Luggage was strewn everywhere from when she was searching for the things she needed to sew up Malfoy, which made her think back to the previous day and how they managed to get onto the train in the first place. Draco was extremely confident in the plan he'd come up with, never in a million years would Hermione thought to have jumped in front of a train, then catch it, so why did Draco?

Before she could let her woozy thoughts explore more down that path, the door opened and Hermione flinched from the light which penetrated the space. It didn't even occur to her it might be somebody other than Draco, but it was him. He was dressed differently.

"Did you steal somebody's clothes? That's terrible."

Draco gave her a grin, which she ignored, well tried to. "When in Rome, Granger. I set some stuff out for you."

She looked beside her, seeing a complete traditional German wench outfit, lederhosen included. Scowling, she looked up at the idiot. "Very funny."

Underneath the silly costume was a pair of jeans, t-shirt and a thick woollen jumper. Perfect. Though she did wonder how he knew her size exactly – it was kind of creepy in a bizarre yet flattering way – he'd noticed her more than she'd thought. Then all thoughts crashed to a halt as she smelt it.

It was the most wondrous smell in the entire continent. Looking up she saw Draco leaning towards her with a small Styrofoam cup of coffee. It took two seconds in Hermione's mind to stop thinking of him as the devil and for a moment she actually believed he was an angel. The sun from the open door actually did halo his blonde hair and Hermione found herself catching her breath, _damn it_ – he looked good, which was _not_ good for her.

Taking a sip, Hermione shut her eyes - it was black, bitter and 'oh' so perfect. He must have gotten changed and visited the dining car – she tried to keep her gratitude to herself. A buttered croissant followed and she didn't care if she looked like a pig; slurping coffee between large bites – she heard Draco chuckle.

"You eat like a sloth – and you sew like a four year old boy."

"Next time I'll leave the bullet in." Hermione retorted hoping he understood her; she had another mouthful of pastry. "So, we have the relic, we are still being hunted – what now? I have a man in the Ministry, if we can get to a phone or an owl I can alert him to what's going on."

Draco frowned as he leant up against the wall of the carriage, the clacking noise was almost comforting now, she didn't want to leave this safe haven – people were trying to kill her outside of these four walls.

"I think its best we don't trust anyone, Granger."

Strangely enough she didn't leap in and point out she didn't trust him either – or did she? This entire fiasco was changing everything she thought she knew. "But he's from the Ministry," she replied instead, wiping flakes of croissant off her face.

"_Especially_ anyone from the Ministry," he replied enigmatically. "I looked on the EMS, we are near a small city, I know a place we can go – we can jump off at the next stop."

Hermione reluctantly agreed, still thinking it was best they contact Herbert, he was the one after all who told her to find the relic in the first place – and to make sure no one else got it before her. "Where are we going then?"

"To an acquaintance of mine," Draco vaguely answered.

"You said trust nobody."

"Well I'm not bloody going to tell him what's happening, am I? But he can help us with equipment and other things we may need which we can't conventionally buy."

"Like?" Hermione demanded, not enjoying where this was going.

"You know; weapons and spells."

"Oh, you mean a backyard swindler," Hermione said sweetly, with a huge hint of sarcasm.

"No, a contact I have through my business dealings."

"Sorry, I mean an _untrustworthy_ backyard swindler…"

"Oh, for Merlins sake, Granger – just go with something for once in your life without the thousands of annoying questions you seem to dream up out of nowhere. The trains slowing – lets go."

Hermione said nothing more and followed Draco out; they jumped off just as the train came to a stop, then they disappeared in the crowd of waiting families and travellers. Draco stopped at a small booth and haggled with a man over the price of a map and some water, he looked so natural doing it, Hermione once again realised how much about this man she didn't know and was slowly learning; then they were off.

The house when they arrived looked like it should have been demolished years earlier – due to safety regulations, but it still stood defiant in the small street. Hermione looked warily at the drooping arch she passed under, but it stayed in place. The small stooped man who opened the door fitted the house perfectly – he looked just as dilapidated.

The white haired man said nothing as he looked Draco over then nodded when satisfied with who knows what; then he saw Hermione standing behind Draco. "She's with me."

The old man looked at Draco in surprise. "I know who it is; I thought you said she was…"

"Never mind that now, just let us in – I'll vouch for her." Malfoy interrupted before the man could finish his sentence. Hermione had no idea who this man was – how in hell did he know her? And where the hell were they? A strange prickling sensation started up the back of Hermione's neck – there was magic, a lot of magic here. What business dealings did Malfoy have with this man? Not good ones she thought, feeling a pang of mistrust, she had almost forgotten Malfoy's shady dealings in the relic world. It wouldn't do to keep forgetting it either, but his actions the last two days was so different from the business man she'd dealt with in London. She was confused and sick of the changes around her that she couldn't explain away with a good theory or research. Hermione reluctantly shrugged off her worries and followed the two men inside; still a little wary of the structure they stood in.

"Wait here," Draco gestured to a chair which Hermione patted once and seeing the dust fly off of it, perched herself on the arm instead. He disappeared to a back room with the old man and Hermione looked around then stood up, she could never help snooping.

Clippings from newspapers around the world littered each space, some Muggle, most magical. Wars, floods, famines and political intrigue were what most pieces of paper were about. She also saw a large book full of schematics for some technical looking items – it was all jargon to Hermione; she couldn't see anything special about them, the next room over looked the same – although he had quite a few interesting pieces she would like for her own art collection.

"Hermione – answer me, don't make me visit a country I've never seen and would probably catch a fever and die from it the minute I stepped over the border."

"Christopher?" Relief fled through her at her best friend's deep voice – she was now glad she never took the damn earpiece off. "We are in deep shit here."

"I know – the Ministry bandwidth is going nuts. Herbert's been here about ten times, demanding to know where you are and if you had the key, I didn't know what to tell him, so I said I lost contact just before you got to the cave. He's really concerned, Hermione. We all are."

Hermione thought a moment about what Draco said, then decided she had to do what was best for her. "Tell Herbert we have it – and we'll meet him here – in town." She rattled off where they were, luckily she'd read the town's name at the rail station; and they had passed a large square with an ornate fountain on the way to this house so told Christopher that's where they'd meet Herbert. Relieved she had sorted out a plan for them, she didn't worry about what Draco would think – he'd be pleased he could stop running and go back to his life of high flying parties and women. Hermione ignored the strange pang she felt when thinking of Draco sleeping around. It was none of her business, never was and never would be, then why did she suddenly feel like she had a say in it? One and a half kisses did not mean anything of the sort.

Suddenly she heard raised voices. Trying not to look too obvious, Hermione made her way as close to the door leading towards the back of the house. She could only pick up a few words here and there, but it was obvious the old man wasn't happy. She could hear Malfoy's voice raising every few words, something about 'he'd be careful' and 'he'd only use it if it was an emergency' then something about 'trust'. Frowning, Hermione quickly sat back on the chair's arm when she heard footsteps coming her way._ What was that about?_

He emerged soon enough, a small backpack over his shoulder – and they left – the old man eyeing her curiously. She noticed neither said goodbye to the other. Who was this man? She frowned and followed Draco back to the street.

"Who is he?" she found herself asking, curiosity getting the better of her.

"Lloyd," is all Malfoy replied. She huffed out an annoyed breath, which Malfoy ignored – _arse._ She wasn't going to get any more out of him about it.

They came close to the square where she told Christopher to get Herbert to meet them and for some reason she started picking nervously with the hem of her jumper. Hermione knew she had to tell Malfoy what she'd done while he was acquiring unlicensed spells.

"Malfoy, I uh…" she didn't really know where to start, but she wasn't afraid of him – his anger and scorn she could deal with. "Christopher managed to get through again and I told him where we were – he's letting my contact at the Ministry know – they should be here in a second."

Draco whirled on her so fast she thought he'd snap a vertebrae, "you fucking what?" Grabbing her shoulders tightly he looked wildly around,_ what was his issue?_

"I took care of it, we aren't equipped to keep running – the Ministry has people who do this all the time – let them deal with the relic – we did well to keep it from Raul as far as this."

Suddenly he pulled her towards a small shop front and pushed her into the doorway, leaning in menacingly. "You have no idea what you've just done, do you? I thought you were smart, no actually I thought you were exceptionally smart…" Hermione blinked; stomach alive with fluttering at his words – _he thought she was smart_. "But now I know you are the stupidest witch on the planet. Merlin, I want so bad to throttle some sense into your head – you know what your problem is, Granger – you are too bloody trusting of the wrong people."

Anger flooded her, but before she could retort, a wave of sickness hit her. Nausea and pain in her stomach almost made her double over, she saw Draco wince, but managed to keep upright. Then she spied William next to the fountain. How the hell had he found them? He was surrounded by men, men who were making her feel violently ill, some held wands – some had guns strapped to their thighs – none of the passer-by's seemed to notice. They must have a cloaking spell on their weapons.

"Shit, we stick out like nobody's business – we need to get away." Draco was looking around; then when Hermione bit back a sharp cry of shock he glanced down at her. She only had eyes for the wizard who had popped into existence. It was Herbert, and he was talking to William who was shaking his head at something. She had been a fool – the biggest fool ever. She had led these men straight to them – she was the one who told the bad guys where they were. Hermione Granger was a trusting freaking idiot.

"I can't believe Herbert is working with Raul, it doesn't make sense…"

Draco pushed her a little more into the doorway, then she saw somebody else next to the fountain who had previously been hidden behind the men, and her stomach dropped right out of her body in fear. He was beaten, bruised and one eye had swollen shut, but he was still conscious - looking around with his good eye. This one good green eye, locked onto her, they'd always had an uncanny connection. "Christopher…"

Draco snapped his head around at her small anguished cry. "For fuck's sake, could this get any more complicated?"

"We have to save him," she cried when Draco tried pushing her in the opposite direction. He huffed as she resisted him.

"You're the one who put him in this position in the first place. We can't help him now – he's surrounded. Do you get that? He is surrounded and we have no wands or anywhere near enough weapons to help him."

Hermione blanched at his harsh words, but they were true. It _was_ her fault. But that only made her angrier – it was _her_ freaking fault and she had to save him – no questions. She let Draco lead her down another two shops so they were hidden again. She looked back – Christopher was no longer eyeing her, Hermione hoped he didn't think she'd leave him there. Swiftly the armed men started to fan out, while Herbert spoke rapidly on the phone gesturing wildly into the cold sunny day. She couldn't hear a thing from where they stood.

"Seriously, Draco – we aren't…."

"Shut it, listen to me – it's a fool's errand, it's suicide – especially as we hold the one key they are looking for." He held up a finger as she started to protest, "But, if it's one thing I've learnt in the last two days – you are the most stubborn infuriating witch to walk this earth and I know you'll just run off and get yourself killed trying to do the right thing. So…we formulate a plan, steal The Grindle Chest and save your boyfriend, who I might add is a little shorter than I thought he'd be."

"He's six three…." Hermione trailed off, once again going to protest about her relationship status with Christopher. Draco was pointedly not looking at her though, he was pushed against her, making it difficult to look up without her nose hitting his throat; his attention was back at the square. She could see he was searching for an escape route; she was still stuck on his speech. _Get The Grindle Chest - _Holy Shit, he was serious. A niggling feeling that Draco wasn't all he seemed started to form in her mind; then he cut her thoughts off with a harsh whisper.

"Get ready to sprint, Granger – they're almost on us." His hand tightened on her shoulder, it was strangely comforting for some reason.

Her heartbeat started to tap out a steady rhythm as she watched three men getting closer. Then Draco grabbed her hand and they tore out of their hiding place. She heard a yell behind them as they flew past tourists, locals shopping and children playing in the streets. Ducking and weaving around an elderly couple they came barrelling around a corner and Draco jumped effortlessly over a bin which was directly in his way. Hermione skidded past it, narrowly avoiding the tripping hazard which would have ensured she'd landed on her face. Adrenaline pumped her legs faster and she chanced a glance over her shoulder and saw they were being pursued._ Of course they were,_ they held the supposed key to The Grindle Chest – the bad guys weren't just going to say, 'bad luck boys, we'll get them next time', then shake their fists in the air.

Draco led her down many paths and too many streets with cobbled little alleys until she was completely and utterly confused. Did he know where they were going or was he just running blind? It didn't really matter she figured, as long as they got away from Herbert, William and their cronies so they could formulate a plan to save Christopher…and steal one of the world's greatest artefacts._ What the hell had she gotten involved in?_ Coming around another corner Hermione stifled a squeal as they ran headlong into two of the armed men - two men who were just as surprised to see them.

Without thought she lowered her shoulder and ran straight at one of them, while Draco ran at the other full tilt. She could see the minute they clashed that Draco went directly on the offensive and started to hit into the armed man. Hermione ducked her body at the last moment and felt her shoulder go right into her man's gut – winding him. He fell back sprawled on the ground and she jumped on him and punched his jaw. He grunted in pain, but wasn't knocked out; Hermione scrambled for a weapon and saw nothing. She looked down at his belt instead and saw a stun gun – excellent. It took her one second to unclip the device then jumped off him and used it. Hermione thought it was a bit unfair to use somebody else's own weapon against them, but he had it coming.

She pocketed the stun gun in her bag and saw Draco had also downed his man; then they were off running again. The whole episode took all of two minutes; she was starting to think she might be in the wrong industry. Kicking arse seemed to be coming naturally to her. They saw a small footbridge in the distance and made a run for it, Draco handed her something – it was a black cap one of the men was wearing. She frowned.

"Put it on – your hair is as bloody obvious as you are."

She tucked her curls up on her head and slammed the hat down just as they reached the bridge, full of tourists and people selling their wares. As Hermione went to run across it, Draco dragged her to the base of the bridge instead - almost hidden from view.

"They'll bloody see us here," Hermione protested as Draco pulled on a black knitted beanie. Where had he gotten that from and why the hell was it oddly appealing? He ripped his jacket off, throwing it around her shoulders inside-out showing the bright blue lining; then roughly pulled her towards him using the lapels as an anchor.

"No they won't," he replied. "It's almost too clichéd of a plan, but trust me, it'll work."

"What will…?" Hermione didn't get any further as her words were suddenly cut off due to the fact Draco was kissing her for the second time – and he wasn't holding back.

* * *

_Stupid plan – really stupid_, Draco told himself as soft surprised lips opened beneath his. He was supposed to be ignoring the fact he was finding Granger more and more appealing as the hours ticked by, not bloody throwing himself into it with a complete lack of abandon.

His grip tightened on the lapels of the jacket as he held Granger in place and completely devoured her in a kiss. His tongue danced across her lips and she opened further allowing him access. The heat of her mouth and the small whimper he heard her involuntary make, hardened his already rising cock. _Merlin, this witch was unexpected. _Her hands came up to grasp the front of his jumper and hold on as their breathing started to come out ragged.

He heard shouts and footsteps, but found himself lost in the warmth and sensation of their kiss, and barely noticed as men ran directly past them and over the bridge. Granger's fingers started to trail down the front of his jumper until they found the edge of it and small cold hands found his bare skin. It was a shock at first, the coolness, but they ran over his stomach muscles, questing, searching and he felt himself clenching in arousal. She wrapped her hands around his back and pulled herself against him, pushing on his hardness. Bloody hell, he was a wreck – and it was one bloody kiss. Draco knew right that very second if he didn't sleep with her once, he would regret it for the rest of his life. He only needed to screw her senseless one time to get it out of his system – then he'd never speak to the witch again once this ordeal was over. He just had to figure a way to do it.

How long they stood there kissing, he couldn't say, a minute, ten – but all too soon, he was releasing her – a little harder than intended. Hermione's cheeks were pink and her lips red and bruised from the punishing kiss he'd given her – she looked, _breathtaking _– no, she looked like Granger, nothing more nothing less. _Merlin, he was in trouble._

Grabbing Hermione's arm – he hauled her away from the bridge and they tucked their heads down and walked quickly in the opposite direction the men had gone. They said nothing to the other for a long time – Draco wasn't exactly sure on what to say anyway – so the silence was good. If he knew that it would have shut Granger up for a while he would have kissed her ages ago.

As they walked, Draco tried to formulate a plan on finding Raul and The Grindle Chest, the stuff he'd gotten from Lloyd's would help, but he really needed a wand – or an arsenal. Lloyd didn't have either of those things – except the one weapon Draco took which was more powerful than an entire army – if it worked.

"Holy shit, Malfoy – I think I know a way to find out where Raul is holed up, I've actually known the whole time"

Draco managed to fight off the urge to grab Hermione and shake her for not telling him sooner, instead he stopped and when she also stopped in surprise, he turned her bodily towards him - grasping her shoulders.

"How?" he said the word slowly and probably not in the nicest tone as he watched her frown. Damn, her lips looked inviting, all pouty and annoyed – _oh man_, finding Granger's surliness attractive was a can of worms he didn't want to open, he'd be constantly hard.

Instead of answering, she tugged him into a shop – a small cafe. She ordered two large mugs of coffee and bought two sandwiches, paying with a card she'd pulled out of her top –_ what the hell_? "Never leave home without it." She quoted to him; he resisted the urge to ask what else she kept in her bra. He did not need to be thinking about that right now.

Once they had sat down near the back, just in case William and his men came past the shop, she grabbed his wrist in excitement. "Christopher had it chipped, ages ago – I thought he was mad – but bloody hell, it could just save his damn life now."

Draco frowned at her, ignoring the sharp dig in his chest when she mentioned Christopher again, this boyfriend was a pain in his arse. Malfoy knew he didn't like him – on principle, he just didn't like dark haired wizards – it was a rule he had, albeit a relatively new rule once again since Harry and he were now friends of a sort.

"What is chipped, Granger?" He forced this out through clenched teeth – she was annoying him now.

He watched her brow furrow as she looked at him like he was the biggest dolt in the world. "My wand of course," she drawled. "We can pick up its frequency on the EMS, hell this whole time we have been running I didn't even think we could trace my wand back to them."

Draco sipped his coffee slowly, glad Granger's need to organise and control everything had finally come in handy. So they had the means now to find the Chest… and the damn boyfriend – but they needed a plan of offense. Granger's next question startled him completely that he lost his usual veneer of indifference.

"Are you a spy?"

"Excuse me?" he stalled, not exactly sure on how to answer her.

"Straight forward question, Malfoy. Are. You. A. Spy?"

Running his hand through his hair, which he suddenly realised was a tell of his, he dropped his hand back to the mug in front of him and took another large gulp. Annoyingly he didn't have any more food to stall her with by chewing slowly. Hermione's large brown eyes didn't leave his, and he resisted the urge to look away. How in hell was he supposed to answer this? The trick was to keep close to the truth – hell, why didn't he tell her the whole truth? _No,_ that would be ridiculous he decided.

"How is this relevant?" he hedged, just as the door opened and one of the men from the fountain came in searching tables. _How ironic, saved by the enemy,_ Draco thought.

Hermione leaned down and grabbed her backpack and slowly slid close to the ground. They chose these seats because there was an exit out the back courtyard to the toilets which were outside. Draco kept low and they slid out down the small hallway, he was pretty sure they'd been spotted though.

They burst out the back and Hermione climbed on the dumpster to jump over the fence, Draco hot on her heels, and unfortunately so was the other guy – who was on his radio as they fled. _Great_, he was telling the others where they were – could this day get any more complicated.

"I want an answer, Malfoy – I won't forget." Hermione called to him from the ground on the other side of the fence.

Draco knew she wouldn't let it go – it wasn't like Granger. It made him question what the hell had been happening for him to know exactly how Granger worked – it didn't scare him as much as it should have.

* * *

Hermione was off running like a sprinter, Draco a few feet behind her. They had been sitting there drinking coffee and chatting about a plan to save Christopher when it hit Hermione – Draco was more than just a relic hunter. She actually felt slightly idiotic for it to take so long to realise. If his scars, demeanour and the quick thinking on his feet were anything to go by – he was a spy, a secret Auror or something else. She fervently hoped he wasn't one of the bad guys also trying to get the Chest – she'd had enough betrayal to last her a lifetime. Yet she couldn't help but wonder - was she silly to trust in him? It was almost too late for this question as she realised she did – implicitly.

Skidding around another corner Hermione came to an abrupt halt and grabbed Draco while pulling them up against a wall. She'd seen Herbert. After a few seconds of tense silence, Draco leant down whispering in her ear, her stomach flipped as his breath tickled her lobe. The kiss they shared at the bridge flowing to the forefront of her mind, making her knees weak._ Bad timing, Granger._

"What is it?"

"Herbert, just ahead…." She trailed off when another Herbert came into view – shouting at the original Herbert. It was as she squinted at the two men she started to notice subtle differences. Although they wore completely different clothes, one had slightly longer hair at the back and his frame was smaller – almost a little sickly. As she watched, the familiar feeling of wrongness started to encompass her again. "Holy shit – I'm confused." She finally said.

Draco just started to pull her in the opposite direction when they almost walked into five men – five men who had an array of wands or guns trained at them.

"Oh fuck." Draco managed to say before a gun was pushed right into his chest. Hermione inhaled sharply and tried to get a reign on her racing heart.

"Turn around and move it," the man demanded as Draco slowly spun towards where she'd seen the two Herbert's. Hermione could almost hear his mind ticking over from where she stood, a wand now pushed into her lower back. What in hell were they going to do?

They were marched straight ahead and before Hermione could even ask what was going on, Herbert was directly in front of her – well one of them was.

"Ah, Ms Granger – Mr Malfoy, you have been a pain to track down – very resourceful together aren't you?" His tone was clipped but held a small accent of some sort – Hermione couldn't tell. She knew immediately this wasn't _her_ Herbert from the Ministry, where he had gone she could only guess. It was just her and Draco surrounded by men with weapons and the wizard in front of her which made her swallow back bile. He noticed her discomfort and sneered.

"What is wrong with you?" Hermione couldn't help but spit out as she swallowed hard again. "You feel like the sludge on the bottom of a polluted river, it's disgusting…" her head snapped back as the man struck her.

"Do that again and I will kill you." Draco's harsh words flew through Hermione as she worked her jaw loose and stared at Malfoy in incomprehension – had he just defended her?

"I would like to see you try, Mr Malfoy. Now I have you, I want my key." He gestured for the man behind her, suddenly her small bag was ripped off her shoulder, she winced as it caught but the man didn't stop – her shoulder flared in pain, _idiot. _She cast a worried look in Draco's direction, but his head was held high as he stared down the man before him.

"Raul, I assume – I will only give you one warning – if you keep searching for the key I will hunt you down and I will stop you. If it means your death, so be it – but I promise you – you will be stopped."

Hermione's brain started to join the dots – Raul and Herbert were obviously related – twins. But why on earth would they need The Grindle Chest? What past were they trying to change, what wrong did they want to right? No matter – it would change the course of history – it couldn't be allowed to happen. Raul strode towards Draco getting in his face, she noticed Draco swallow, the overwhelming feeling of illness was hitting them both hard the closer he got.

"Your threats are petty, but I believe _you _are the only one who is going to die. The Ministry even deny the knowledge of your mission and who you are; they won't be able to stop me."

Hermione's head snapped towards Draco – she knew it, he was a spy of some sort working for the Ministry. She tried not to let this knowledge overshadow their position, but it was hard not to. He hadn't outwardly lied to her but it felt like it – she hated to be in the dark, no matter the situation.

Draco just gave him a small smile, like he knew something Raul didn't – it caught Raul off guard and a small flicker of worry shadowed his features for a split second.

"There's nothing in either of their bags, Sir." Hermione frowned – what the hell had Draco gotten at Lloyds then?

Sighing heavily, Raul squeezed his fingers on the bridge of his nose. "Kill her then."

Hermione gasped as she felt the wand move from her back to the base of her neck - _Holy shit, she was about to be obliterated._ She felt the prickle of magic hit the air and before she could even shut her eyes and wait for the pain she was flying sideways into a wall – hard.

The blast of magic which was meant for her, landed on a pot plant – which immediately turned black and began to smoke. She looked over and saw Draco – he was poetry in motion. Somehow he'd managed to kick in the man's knee that held him, while at the same time ducking and pushing Hermione aside with all his might, sending her guard's spell into the shrubbery. It had happened in a blink of an eye. Her stomach clenched hard when she realised how close to dying she'd actually been. Hot and cold sweats broke over her skin and she felt clammy and sick. This sickness had nothing to do with the wizards surrounding them – it was because she'd faced her mortality and it scared her stupid. It was a sensation she didn't want to ever feel again.

She got up shakily as Draco fought off another attacker – a gun shot went off and she ducked involuntary, a bullet ricocheted off the wall near her head. Then she saw Draco throw something on the ground while yelling out a word in Latin she'd never heard. The entire space was suddenly crowded with a thick almost tangible smoke – it blacked out the entire area. Hermione couldn't even see the hand in front of her face, then she was being tugged – she fought at first until she heard a familiar arrogant hiss. Draco had her and he was running them blind through thick smoke while bullets and spells bounced around them. How they didn't cop a stray spell, Hermione could never tell. She heard Raul's cry of anger and felt a small sliver off fear crawl up her spine – he wanted her dead.

The feeling of utter panic and the heady sensation of surviving again overtook her emotions and she choked back a small cry of relief as they hit the cool light of day again. She'd almost died – really and truly died, and she had Malfoy to thank for saving her life – again. The fear was slowly sliding away under the adrenaline pumping through her at escaping their pursuers once again. When would their luck run out? It had to soon. She pushed down the thoughts of capture and ran with Draco.

He looked non-plussed while dragging her along a road, before coming to a small car-park full of bikes and cars. She leant up against a car and concentrated on steadying her breathing, _Merlin's balls _– she'd almost been killed, turned to dust never to be seen or heard of again. It hit her right between the eyes a second later - her life was almost snuffed out and she'd never really lived. She'd never danced in the rain on a summer's night, she'd never climbed Everest, she'd never cage-dived with a great white shark, she'd never taken a class on hieroglyphic reading and she'd never slept with a completely inappropriate man just because it was reckless and felt good. She snapped a glance at Draco as her last thought slid through her, _oh no, what the hell was she thinking?_

Before she could continue her inner monologue of all the things she'd wanted to do but hadn't found the time, Draco was pushing her into a small car. She allowed it as her mind kept reeling. They sped out of the small city with no regards on which way they were headed, they were free for the moment.

Draco kept checking the rear-view and when he was satisfied they weren't being followed he slowed down and looked at her, his face unreadable – he was either pissed or worried.

"Are you ok, Granger? You look a little spooked."

A bubble of almost crazy laughter erupted from her throat. She swallowed it down before she let it all out. His brow furrowed further.

"I almost died." She let out; then looked sharply at Malfoy when he laughed.

"Granger – we have jumped off a mountain with one parachute, almost got shot in the forest, survived rapids, fell down a waterfall, chased a train then jumped onto it – every one of those things could have killed you ten times over – and you're only now just freaking out because some guy held a wand to your neck?" Draco patted her knee as he said this and she watched as it stayed there for a moment too long, his face slightly reddened when he pulled away quickly.

"Well, when you put it like that…" she trailed off, realising that she had survived all of that and more. Was now the time to change her fate? She looked at Malfoy, really looked at him. His blonde hair was mussed from the beanie he'd pulled off and he looked younger and untroubled, a pang at how ridiculously handsome he was hit her stomach. How had she never realised before, how had it never registered that on a scale of one to one hundred he was clearly a three hundred? For all his horrible arrogance and conceited personality there was something here which called to Hermione. Whether it was the life and death situation she'd just survived or if it was something completely different – her perception had shifted towards him. Then a crazy amazing feeling took over her – a confidence Hermione didn't even realise she had. The knowledge she needed to start living – really living coursed through her adrenaline fuelled body – what better time to start than now.

Without thought to the future and existing completely in the moment, Hermione reached over and started to unbuckle the belt of Draco's trousers. He stilled and looked at her, eyebrow cocked in question. Hermione could die trying to get The Grindle Chest or saving Christopher and she didn't want to die not experiencing something so sinfully naughty without having to think about negative repercussions. It was Malfoy – what was the worst that could happen? She'd never fall in love with the arse. The car surged slightly as his foot slipped off the accelerator when she didn't stop immediately at his look.

"Err, Granger – the EMS is on the back seat not on my belt this time."

Gulping, Hermione looked up into astonished grey eyes as she continued to slip the buckle open and lowered his zip. Sliding her warm hand inside, she grasped his prick in her fist and tightened her grip making Draco groan unexpectedly, he wasn't wearing briefs. _Oh lord._

"I know," she whispered not losing eye contact with the clearly shocked Slytherin as she lowered her lips towards his now exposed cock.

Draco's slightly dazed and uninhibited growl made her grin. This was the first thing she could cross off her list._ No regrets._

* * *

**_A/N -_ I know, I know - I'm terrible for leaving it there - try not to abuse me too much! As some of you are aware - I love leaving chapters at annoying times...don't worry the next one I'll try and post earlier!**

**I just also want to say thanks to you all for still reading - this is one of my more plot/action driven stories - but never fear it does move on - although there is still loads of action coming up - really hope you are all still enjoying the ride!**

**For all of you who alerted, favourited and reviewed - I can only say I'm very grateful for your support! You guys never fail to make me smile!**

**As always - would love to hear what you think! And seriously I'll try not to leave Draco hanging for too long...**


	6. Chapter 6

"What the hell are you doing?" Draco's sharp intake of breath halfway through his sentence made it yelp out. Hermione ignored him as she pushed his pants open further, her eyes taking him in for the first time. His cock was hard, silky and was just begging to be licked – Hermione complied by swirling her tongue just over the head of him.

"Do you want me to stop?" she questioned, a smirk on her lips as she lightly sucked the salty tip of him, _Merlin this felt naughty._

"Oh, god no…" the words were ripped from his throat as she squeezed the base of his cock and swirled her tongue once more – she was having more fun with this than being locked in the library after hours.

She felt the car slow down to an almost crawl as she began to stroke Draco with a firm fist – all while still lightly sucking and licking for all she was worth. Draco's moans from deep within him resonated through Hermione's body landing squarely in her groin. She squeezed her thighs together to stifle her own arousal – it made her hotter instead.

There was no thought to her safety as Draco continued to drive slowly along the road, cars passed them and it just added to the naughtiness of the situation. Imagine Hermione Granger being caught doing lewd oral acts on Draco Malfoy in a foreign country – she sucked harder and engulfed as much of his length as she could – before sliding back and popping her mouth off the end. Draco swore above her and she felt a shaky hand land on the back of her shoulders, not pushing or guiding, but pleading. He was losing his self-control, and she'd never felt sexier.

Draco involuntary thrust upwards and Hermione hummed, the vibrations making another muttered oath leave his lips. She lightly grazed her teeth down him and she felt his hand clench into a fist on her back – she couldn't help but grin as she wrapped her tongue partially around his cock and slid it back up and out again.

The indicator was loud over her small moans and sucking noises and she wondered briefly if Draco was just going to pull over on the side of the road, surely somebody would stop and catch them in the act. But he kept driving slowly as she continued her ministrations; his breathing was jerky as the car slid to a stop. Hermione sucked hard, hollowing her cheeks and Draco grabbed the back of her head pulling her up.

Frowning at him she met his eyes – they were blown. Heat fused in her stomach – he looked absolutely and completely fuckable in that moment.

"If you don't stop I'm going to…." He didn't get any further as she smirked and leant down to engulf him in one swoop – sucking, licking and fisting until she felt his body jerk uncontrollably and he bellowed his release. Hot saltiness filled her mouth and she swallowed it down, slowly cleaning him with long strokes of her tongue. He was still shaking slightly.

Her head was lifted tenderly and she suddenly felt a little lost and not as confident when his eyes captured hers. "That was…..indescribable, Granger…why?"

Hermione tried to duck her head, but he wouldn't let her, she was still feeling hot and bothered and her own release demanded to be sated but she didn't know what would happen now. "I figured we could die trying to save the world – why not?"

His expression was unreadable as he looked over her entire face before answering, "So, you're using me for sex in case it's the last time you get it?"

"Yep, that's all." Hermione replied, noticing the slight narrowing of his eyes. There was no way she was going to admit to anything else, hell she'd only just allowed herself the luxury of admitting he was absolutely gorgeous. Why should she deny herself the pleasure of screwing this beautiful arrogant man she'd hated until three days ago? Hell, if she was going to be reckless it may as well start with this.

"If that's the case…" she didn't hear the rest of his words as he'd jumped out the car. For the first time Hermione looked at their surrounds. They were tucked in a small picnic area – completely out of sight of the main highway which ran not even two hundred metres away. She could hear the traffic from here. Then her door was slammed open, and she was unceremoniously pulled from the vehicle into Draco's arms. He pushed her against the car and captured her lips between his, moulding against her like a second skin. Hermione groaned as his hips pushed into her and his hands feathered light touches down her side until his fingers hooked under her jumper – he stood back and slipped it off in one move. The chill wasn't too bad under the cover of the forest but she felt her nipples harden even more. Draco pulled her up higher against the car until she couldn't do anything but wrap her legs around him.

He wasn't hard, but it didn't matter to Hermione, she was lost in the sensations as Draco's lips kissed and bit playfully along her jaw line onto her neck. Shivers sprung up on her body as his tongue swirled little circles down to her collar bone. Next minute her t-shirt was removed too, she didn't even feel it. Draco looked down at her, his eyes assessing and almost black with desire as he looked at her dark emerald green lacy bra. He lifted her even further so his tongue could trace the lines of the top of her bra, his tongue ducking under the silky lace every so often, so close to her nipples but not close enough. Suddenly his mouth covered one silk covered nipple – Hermione's senses went into overdrive as she cried out; her pussy began to throb.

She could hear Draco's small growls, as his teeth bit into her nipple, not hard enough to hurt, but enough to send shards of lust through her; she feebly pulled his head closer – wanting more. Suddenly he was moving – away from the car, but Hermione didn't care as he bit her again._ Holy-moly he was good._

Her arse landed on a picnic table and Draco drew her legs apart and pushed himself between them, all while cupping her breast and kneading slowly now his hands were free. Hermione threw her head back, and opened her eyes – seeing a canopy of trees above her. _Outdoor sex,_ she wildly thought – was something else she'd always wanted to do. Who knew she could get it both with one unsuitably hot wizard.

Then his hand was snaking into her jeans and Hermione saw stars as his fingers found her slick wetness. How did it feel so good – how on earth could Draco Malfoy be doing this to her while she writhed around beneath him – not caring in the slightest they could be caught in seconds?

He found her clit and began to stroke her tightly, caressing the small nub as she panted for a release, and just as she was getting to the point of no return – he stopped.

Scowling Hermione looked up at him; he was smirking down at her – it was almost too sexy, when did it go from annoying to hot? He still didn't move - _Oh for the love of God, _he was being an arrogant prick about her orgasm – at what point was sleeping with him a good idea, she couldn't remember.

"Don't look at me like that, Granger." His deep voice shivered over her, Hermione was about to retort that he deserved it, when he slid her jeans and panties off in one movement and dropped to his knees before her. _Oh, Merlin._

His tongue was stiff and supple as he pushed into her, his hand coming up so his thumb could continue to press against her clit. She was about to die of pleasure and it was at the hands of a damn Slytherin. She didn't give two hoots.

As his tongue quested deeper while it slithered around, Hermione felt the beginnings of her orgasm crash back to her. He nipped at her lightly before licking around her nub at the same time as flicking it. She was in heaven. Leaning back on the table she looked down at what Draco was doing to her – it took a split second for her orgasm to hit as she watched Draco's blonde head between her legs – what the hell was happening to her? Whatever it was - it felt delicious. White heat flared through her body as she writhed under Draco's unrelenting tongue; he continued until she gasped in over-sensitisation.

Throwing her arm over her eyes, she lay on the table a moment – jeans and panties around her ankles, and just wearing a bra – it was cold out, but she was heated from the very core. She'd never felt so reckless and wanton. She'd slept with a few men – she wasn't a nun, but none of those could even be compared to the shards of electricity which coursed through her body when Draco touched her. How was this possible? Her body clenched in aftershocks and she couldn't help but wonder what having his thick length encased in her would feel like…

Hermione sat up quickly, she'd gotten the orgasm she wanted – there was no point dallying over it anymore, she'd let him do more to her than she thought she would. Now the excitement had left her body she felt exposed and a little vulnerable. Draco was staring at her, crouched still between her legs, his breathing unsteady.

"Granger…I can't even begin…."

She held up her hand and he stopped. "Using each other, remember?"

She didn't look at his face as she jumped off the table red-faced and pulled her jeans back up. Her underwear against her wetness made a jolt run through her – Merlin, she wanted more, hell she didn't want to stop now – Hermione wanted Draco to bend her over the park bench and pound into her until all she could think about was his cock and the sensations it was creating. And that's why she grabbed her t-shirt and put it on – she didn't want to get attached; she felt a light thought telling her it was too late.

"Right, using…" Draco echoed, Hermione couldn't tell what he was thinking; he had no expression she could see. She adjusted herself and they both slid back into the small car silent. The smell of sex permeated the air and Hermione cracked the window a little – she didn't want to get turned on again just from the smell of their arousals. Had she made a mistake? _No _– if she died, she would at least go with the knowledge of what a mind-blowing orgasm was like. She gave Draco a side-on glance, he was concentrating on the road, his cheeks were still flushed and she once again felt a tug deep inside. She crushed it with a small amount of shame, Christopher was captured and in danger, the world was on the brink of getting a mystical Chest opened up for who knew what and here she was mooning over the fact she wanted sex with Draco Malfoy – her priorities were screwed.

Hermione grabbed the EMS from the backseat and began to put in her wands tracking number, Draco glanced over a few times to see what she was doing. She ignored him as best she could – which seemed to be not at all. Hermione was acutely aware of every breath, every gesture and every gear change. Her face flushed a little when she realised she was watching Draco's hands on the wheel and daydreaming about where they'd just been instead of concentrating on their next move. The EMS beeped; she silently thanked it for the reprieve.

"This must be wrong," Hermione muttered when she saw where the EMS was saying her wand was.

Draco leaned over and she showed him the device, his eyebrow cocked slightly and Hermione couldn't look away. He caught her eye and she flushed, angry at herself. He was not _that_ great – who was she kidding, she'd opened a door which couldn't be shut now, because it was wedged open with grey eyes and a mouth that wouldn't quit. She was a first, second and third class idiot. She caught a small smile he was trying to hide and it made her angry – was he mocking her? _Bastard._

She should concentrate on work and not worry about the disconcerting sensations running through her body, there was time enough later to forget Draco's tongue and all the wicked things it could do…_this was not helping_. Narrowing her eyes in concentration she looked at the location again - the EMS said her wand was in the middle of a swamp. There was nothing around it, nothing at all – the nearest town stood at least an hour's drive away. "Could it be a faulty reading?"

Draco looked offended that she had questioned his device. "No."

Hermione huffed, annoyed for more reasons than she could count, chief being her inability to forget how Draco's moans slid through her. She'd never had this much trouble compartmentalising her feelings – why now of all times was it failing her – she was pissed-off. "Right, of course there could be nothing wrong with the device _your_ company made – because _you_ are so perfect and never make mistakes…"

"Are we still talking about the device or…?"

"Don't interrupt me I'm sick of it – you think you're so superior, so freaking special and untouchable due to your name and Pureblood status…"

Draco jerked the brakes on and Hermione flailed forward throwing her hands out at the last minute to stop her head connecting with the dash.

"Are you mad? You could have…" Hermione's voice cut off when Draco leaned over and grabbed her jumper in his fists, yanking her half out the seat and into the middle of the car. She felt the vibrations through her as the car idled. The whooshing noises of cars passing infiltrated Hermione's psyche, it was the only thing penetrating her thoughts as Draco's cold angry eyes held hers.

"Let it go, Granger. Just let it go." The iciness in his voice stopped her retort dead in its tracks. "You're angry at our situation or at Herbert or bloody Christopher being taken – but I'm sick of you taking everything out on me for the last fifteen years – I am not the cause for every bloody problem you possess. Now are you ready to fight?"

Hermione gulped, surprised and slightly chagrined. She _was_ taking it out on him – but it was her security blanket, how she knew the world was right – Draco equalled bad, Hermione – good. Now she didn't know, and it ate away at her – she liked answers and having things set out properly and plain to see. Things had gotten complicated and she only had herself to blame. But if she could go back and change things…no, she wouldn't, it wasn't her way – Hermione Granger looked danger in the face and fought it – even if it was a burgeoning feeling for one Draco 'arrogant' Malfoy.

"Yes, I'm ready to fight – but I need to know one thing before we do this."

Draco slowly let her jumper loose, and Hermione hated the small pang at the loss of closeness. He sat back in his seat and flicked the indicator on before carefully pulling the car into traffic, then answering her, "What?"

"Who are you?"

He shifted in his seat and looked in the mirror sighing heavily before answering. "We need to find an Apparating point – or fly like a Muggle to get to this swamp. Personally I want to Apparate, but beggars can't be choosers."

Hermione's mouth hung open – he was completely dodging her question, "Malfoy…."

"Do you get that I can't talk about it, Granger?" His voice was snappy and brokered no room for an argument.

This didn't stop her from wanting to argue though – but when she went to open her mouth ready to start a fight, a memory hit her and she closed her mouth instead. Hermione knew very well about not being able to tell people the truth – the whole time-turning event came to mind, and pretty much everything the DA discussed in the war. So yes, she got that he couldn't talk about it, but it didn't stop the strange twinge at him not telling her the truth.

They sat in silence after that – the tension in the air more than just sexual now. She watched Draco as he changed gears, his trousers tightening with the movement showing his half hard cock and her mouth went dry – she looked away, maybe it _was _mainly sexual tension in the car. Hermione had jumped from the frypan into the fire and she loved the heat.

* * *

_Using him,_ what the hell did that mean? Nobody and he meant nobody used Draco Malfoy, not now, not ever. Especially not Ms Hermione 'I make the most scrumptious sounds when sucking cock' Granger. He mentally face-palmed himself – now he'd heard her moans, he was finding it hard to un-hear them. This is why he never got involved with witches who had an IQ higher than five. He liked them dumb and malleable – not bloody pushing his boundaries and challenging him. Smart women were a complete turn off…

He chanced another side-on glance at Granger – the chit had the impertinence to sit there all flushed with tousled hair and a come hither look – it was driving him insane. Draco ignored the sane side of his brain which told him she was just sitting in an office and _not_ taunting him. Growling to himself he knew he didn't want this – he _never_ wanted this. Granger was supposed to be a sexless creature until the day he died next to his blonde Pureblood Slytherin wife who would make his parents happy. He was not supposed to have these strange and quite frankly alarming sensations starting in his chest at the thought of her beneath him as he ravished her lips and slid into her hot wet heat.

Draco Malfoy and Hermione Granger were born enemies – it was a fact. There was no getting around the knowledge that nothing of any importance could ever happen between them – it would be ludicrous and foolish to think otherwise. Hell, she'd practically told him how much she abhorred him in the car. But, he could still fuck her – that would be allowed…surely. He had to get _something_ out of this situation. Once again he tried pushing aside the voice telling him he wanted something more than sex, it stayed with him. Angry at himself, Draco knew if he wanted more from a woman he could find a well-bred witch who didn't make his blood boil. _Simple. _This was about sex, nothing more nothing less. But the fact he kept thinking about sex _with_ Granger more than once made him stop and wonder what exactly was going on in his mind when it came to the brown eyed witch - now was not the time though.

Huffing, Draco glanced up at the staid looking man with a bad comb-over who watched them above his thick reading glasses from the safety of a desk. They had arrived at the nearest Apparation point about an hour earlier and Draco was starting to get really pissed off that they had been waiting for so long. Apparently they needed their identity verified. He thought it was just bureaucrats wasting time – his time – time he'd been thinking about the damn witch next to him. _Calm down,_ he told himself for the fiftieth time in eight minutes; he watched with narrowed eyes as another man joined the first one – whispering in his ear. The wizard with glasses looked up sharply then tried to hide it with a glance at the clock. Malfoy knew the look was because of them – something was wrong.

Immediately Draco went onto high alert, Granger was none the wiser next to him; he didn't blame her – she'd never been trained for this sort of thing – plus she was exhausted. He still cursed her ability to trust everyone – everyone but him he thought bitterly – not that he wanted her trust anyway, but it still annoyed him she wouldn't give it. Draco thought back to Granger's question in the car – he found himself surprised he wanted to answer with the truth. Usually the lies rolled off his tongue; he'd almost outed himself as a Ministerial Asset.

"Granger – you need to go to the toilet."

She looked up, her face puzzled. "Uh, no I don't."

Malfoy gritted his teeth, this witch was a bloody nightmare. "Yes. You. Do."

"I think I'd know…"

"Bloody do it." He saw her about to argue and he pinched her leg out of view from the two men, "and keep your eyes peeled for _other_ people."

Her eyes widened almost indecipherably and she glanced at the men behind the counter who were still talking in hushed whispers. Nodding once she stood up.

"Excuse me Miss Granger – take a seat. It won't be a minute." The man's voice sounded high pitched and nervous. Hermione looked at Draco – he saw the realisation dawn – things weren't right. She sauntered over to the desk and leaned forward – the man swallowed in fear. What was going on?

"I'm not going anywhere…_Dennis_." Draco found himself hiding a smirk as she drawled the man's name while reading his badge. "If I'm not mistaken you've been working here for about twenty years – isn't that right?" The man nodded, and Granger grinned. Draco looked away quickly, obviously suffering heartburn if the feeling in his chest was anything to go by. Her voice hardened slightly "Now, Dennis – you _know_ I'm Hermione Granger, I've actually used this facility many times over the years – so what's the damn hold up?"

Suddenly the man behind Dennis grabbed his wand at the same time Draco jumped forward and threw himself at Granger – slamming them both into the ground. A stunning spell flew over their heads.

"I said to go check out the perimeter for hostiles," he hissed furiously. "And what do you do – antagonise the damn men watching us." Draco was bloody lucky he'd seen the man move otherwise Granger would be like a stunned mullet on the ground, useless to him.

"You said no such thing." She retorted as they crawled around the desk towards Dennis, the other man with the wand had jumped around the front of it trying to locate them. Draco wanted to throttle her – did she ever do what she was told?

"You can't hide or escape – there's a Ministry APB out on you two. It will mean a promotion for me if I detain you here until the Auror's come. Stealing world changing artefacts and declaring war on the Ministry is not the smartest thing either of you have done."

Hermione defiantly stood up and for a second he thought she was going to stamp her foot. "What do you mean? I have done no such thing – we've been protecting the damn thing." Draco pulled her back down as another spell came flying overhead. He heard Dennis from under the desk calling for help. Granger and he were shit out of luck.

"Herbert is framing us." Hermione spoke, shock clearly setting in. "I've done nothing but conserve the historical value of every artefact I've ever found or searched for – donating millions to the Museum of Magical History – and what – the Ministry believes the first pack of lies it's told. What about you – _you_ bloody work for them." She poked him hard in the chest – just as the wizard rounded the corner and pointed his wand at them.

"I don't bloody work for them, I'm what you'd call a contract worker – I get called in to do weapons research and development…Merlin, Granger is now really the time?" As he said this Draco kicked his leg straight up and caught the wizards arm with his foot, realising at the same time he'd practically told Hermione what his 'secret' employ was. How did she manage to make the words slip from him? Especially as he'd just congratulated himself on _not_ telling her – no-one else could make his mind forget itself, it was a frightening thought. The man's spell flew wide and the wand went airborne. Draco cursed and rolled to his feet in one motion, sending one hard jab at the wizards face – he squeaked and fell down._ Amateur_.

The door behind Dennis' desk flung open and a man wearing a gas mask came in, wand raised. He sent a spell out into the room as Draco fell once again to the floor - he was sick of hiding on the ground. His nostrils started to quiver as a green smoke began to float through the air; it was a knock-out gas. Granger grabbed him – eyes wide and panicked, then right before him she took a gulp and her eyes hardened. The change was mesmerising. She grabbed her jumper's neckline and lifted it over her nose and mouth, motioning Draco to do the same then she disappeared from view. He was too shocked at her transformation from fear to fight to do anything but.

Then men were on him. He jumped up and started to try and fight his way through, but realised it was a lost cause almost immediately. His breathing was labouring – the jumper only doing so much to slow the knock-out gas. _Where the hell was Granger,_ he thought as he blocked a punch aimed for his stomach.

A blue spell came from nowhere knocking the man in front of him clear off his feet – Draco coughed and watched in trepidation as the attacker materialised beside him – Granger stood there, the wizard's wand who he'd punched out earlier gripped in her small fist. He could have kissed her. Before he could say anything, Granger grasped his arm and in a haze of green smoke and lurching stomachs she Apparated them out of there.

* * *

Hermione took in a large gulp of fresh air and coughed almost immediately, they stood arm-in-arm in a swamp – a dirty great big smelly swamp. As she stood there trying to get the last of the noxious gas from her system without letting in too much swamp air her hand began to burn. Looking down in shock she watched as the wand she was holding began to glow red hot. She let it go with a small sound and dropped it to the dirt. She felt heat from it through her boot and cursed the damn spells you could put on your wand to thwart thieves – they could have used the help of magic, but when had things ever gone smoothly? Looking at the wand she knew it would glow red-hot for too long to be a help.

It took another few seconds to realise she was still grasping Malfoy's arm like a vice and she practically flung herself away from him, still in denial about everything that had happened that day. He frowned down at her then sighed exasperated.

"Really? If that's how you want to play it - then fine." he walked a few steps away from her, looking at their surrounds. She was suddenly very interested in the ground. Maybe she was over-reacting – but the last thing Hermione needed was this damn strange attachment she was forming with her fellow outcast. She knew he wasn't feeling anything at all in return which infuriated her even more. How long would it take her to forget the heat they could create together?

"I _don't_ play." Why in hell had she answered him? That wasn't what she was supposed to say, his sharp look had her swallowing hard. He strode over to her, invading her personal space for the umpteenth time since this saga began and she stilled as his breath tickled her cheek and his leg pressed against her thigh. Why could she only stare at his lips?

"Yes you do, Granger. And you know what – I like games just fine, especially when you end up flat on your back with me…"

"What exactly is a contract weapons developer?" she interrupted feeling her face flame red as heat infused it. Lord knows she couldn't let him finish his sentence – her panties felt wet again already. Judging by Draco's small laugh he knew what she was doing.

He took a step away from her and began walking around, still looking for something in the swamp which was different from the norm. "I was serious when I said I couldn't talk about it."

"But you let it slip out, hell – we are now on the Ministry's most wanted list – probably have a shoot to kill order on sight – the least you could do is tell me your dirty little spy secret."

She watched as he took in a deep breath; then exhaled slowly. Once again he ran a hand through his hair, she was startled to realise how sexy she thought this slightly nervous gesture had become. This was the beginning of the end, who'd have thought Malfoy's blonde locks would be her downfall.

"When the war was over, I felt…" he trailed off and watched her a moment, Hermione felt something shift inside her, he shook his head, "doesn't matter, I decided to change things – so I got into research and development to make Muggle electronics work with Magic. I still am a relic hunter on the side – except I find pieces I can utilise in my research. I figured the Muggle world was not going anywhere and we needed to streamline with them more. Being a Malfoy – I can't exactly just be open about my new-found career of a Muggle gadget expert."

"Gadgets like what?" Hermione asked harshly, knowing what he was going to say before the words had left his mouth.

"Weapons, electronics and other…"

"Actually, you know what - I don't _want_ to know, Malfoy. Just when I start to think you could be a decent human being you go and screw it all up by being a damn war-lord."

"A warlord; bloody hell, Granger - that's highly exaggerated, and not even slightly true." She ignored his angry words as she was angrier.

"You freaking make Muggle weapons useful to wizards, it's horrific, unethical and very Malfoy-like."

"No, hang on, I don't do that - there are many soldiers and hospitals which…"

Hermione interrupted him with her hand lifted towards him as if she could physically stop his voice. "I don't want to hear it, Malfoy."

Instead of backing down like she thought he would, he grabbed her by the arm. "Okay, you don't _want_ to hear it, but I'm going to say it anyway…"

The ground suddenly opened up underneath them just as Draco began to kick-off. She heard something about 'saving lives' and 'doing the best he could' but the rest was lost as they fell through at least a tonne of dirt and ended up slamming into a concrete floor about ten feet below.

Groaning, Hermione turned over and absently rubbed her lower back – it bloody hurt. Against all her instincts she reached out for Draco through the dust falling over them, he was right there and sitting up cursing loudly. She let a smile out and instantly tried to smother it, remembering she was pissed at him.

Draco stood up in one movement and reached down for her hand, she ignored it and as graceless as a giraffe she stood on her own, she heard his huff and spun – eyebrow raised.

"I'm not what you think…"

"Where are we?" she butted in, annoyed at the fact she was already starting to forgive him. Damn hormones which seemed to like bloody half smiling, soft blonde haired gits. Hermione knew she needed to re-evaluate things which made her angry.

Draco stared at her a moment before shaking his head, Hermione felt an urge to apologise jump to her lips, but she didn't let it become more than a fleeting thought. Regardless of his protesting innocence he was still a Malfoy and they never did things for the good of the wizarding world 'just because'. He had an angle, she knew it – she just had to figure out what it was. Hermione overlooked why she was so hung up on finding the worst in Draco.

"A tunnel – I guess." He looked at the EMS, "it's not coming up on here; I'm going to say it's an old bunker or underground compound of some description."

"Well, let's check it out – if Christopher is here I need to find him."

"Of course…." Draco whispered - she disregarded his snark.

Hermione started to walk into the darkness, the tunnel appeared to be well kept – there must have been a weakness in the structure's roof which when their combined weight was on it tore a hole through the ground. She felt Draco at her back as she carefully walked forward and was perplexed to feel a sensation of comfort start in her core at not being alone. Or was it comfort in the fact it was Draco Malfoy backing her up? Even after what she had just learned, she felt a strong connection and didn't know what to trust - her ears, a lifetime of mistrust in him or her gut? _Was it time to go on a little faith? _Hell, everything was so bloody jumbled.

Originally all she wanted to do was find The Grindle Chest key so it would be kept in the right hands, then Draco materialised and they'd been through hell just to get away from Herbert and Raul – now they had the Ministry looking for them with intent to arrest them or worse. How had things gotten so damn screwed up? Since she met Draco up on the mountain, she had been shot at, chased and almost killed – was he to blame?

"How did you meet Christopher?" Draco's question caught her off-guard and she fumbled slightly with her response.

"Um…Harry…Harry and Ron introduced me to him just after Hogwarts."

"That long ago…?" Draco's voice trailed off.

Hermione didn't know why he seemed interested: it seemed out of place in the situation they were in. "I hate that they have him, he's just a tech-savvy nerd who would do anything for his friends. He's one of the good guys."

Draco stopped walking and Hermione looked back in the gloom, unable to make out his facial expression.

"Some of the bad ones turn out good too, Granger."

Hermione frowned and answered without thinking, "not in my experience." Malfoy said nothing more as they started to walk on. She wasn't sure what his questions were about – she knew she should come clean and tell him Christopher was only a friend, but something was telling her not to, she realised it was her self-preservation. Hermione was frightened of being hurt.

They came to a cross road of sorts halting all conversation – the tunnel branched off in three different directions – there was only light emitting from one way. Hermione assumed that would be where the bad guys were, because who would work their evil plans in the dark?

Draco pushed himself in front of her and she felt herself bristle in agitation – why did he have to be gallant and chivalrous right now – right when she wanted him to act like a prick? Somebody up above was absolutely mocking her to the extreme, she couldn't think straight – she had no basis for comparison. Was she supposed to be scared, upset, angry, turned-on, indifferent or slowly falling in…..like?

"There's a light ahead." Draco's voice startled her from her musings and she realised he was standing next to her, close. As they walked towards the beam, Hermione felt his hand settle on the small of her back – guiding her forward. _Shit _– no matter what the future held; no matter what shady dealings he was involved with, she bloody liked Malfoy. She stumbled and took in a harsh breath of air as it finally became clear to her. That's why she questioned everything, why she couldn't think straight and had been obsessing over every detail – she really like _liked_ him. He could _never_ find out.

As she had a crisis of confidence, Draco had come to a complete stand-still. He suddenly grabbed her around the waist – pushing her behind him. Ignoring the feeling of his hands on her she knew exactly what this meant – trouble was ahead.

"Why am I not surprised to see the two of you here?"

Hermione mouth went dry and before she could make a move to come out from behind Draco to slap the smarmy drawl from her provoker's face, Draco had tightened his grip and hissed a small 'don't give him the satisfaction'. She knew he was right, but her instinct was to shout, scream and yell out.

"Herbert." She said instead, with a small incline of her head – as if they had been passing each other in the corridor of the Ministry. It took all her willpower and a very sharp pinch from Draco to leave it at that.

Then the sickness hit. Both Hermione and Draco could hardly keep their feet as Raul slowly came up to stand by Herbert. Another three wrong-feeling wizards came from behind and Hermione knew for the moment the chase was over – they had been captured. As she swallowed thickly, she saw Herbert's evil little smile and wondered why she'd never seen it before.

"Welcome to our home, it may seem like nothing – but I'm sure it will grow on you." With a small gesture the men grabbed both her and Draco; they hardly put up any resistance due to the nausea running through them. Hermione needed to find out what the hell was going on – this was not normal and seemed worse in the small confines of the hallway.

As they were hustled down corridor after corridor – Hermione surmised that this was an old bunker of some description, the halls were grey concrete and practical. She saw only four doorways and marked them in her mind in case she managed to escape – though at the moment the likelihood of that happening was remote – especially if she couldn't get Draco out with her. Hermione huffed in almost insane laughter – ten minutes ago, she could have killed Draco – now she was worried about getting him out alive. This is what she was talking about – her inability to practically and logically work out what her emotions were – it was exhausting.

They finally came to a large room – a laboratory of sorts, equipment, jars of solutions and broken wands lay across many benches. Dark stains were also prevalent – Hermione tried not to imagine what that could be. Then she spied The Grindle Chest and felt panic join the sickness._ Shit_ – this was not good.

"Darren – if you would." Herbert gestured to Draco.

One thing Hermione would give Draco; he put up a hell of a fight when cornered. She winced when one of Darren's blows struck him particularly heavy on his shoulder – she heard a crack and hoped it wasn't bones she could hear. Draco's face was sweaty and scowling by the time Darren and another man had wrestled his jumper and shirt off – leaving the very obvious and very priceless artefact strapped to his chest.

As they started to undo the bindings Hermione couldn't hold her tongue anymore. "Why, Herbert – what in Merlin's name possessed you to do this? What could be so important that you would risk altering time and history?"

Herbert stopped talking to one of his men and looked her over critically, for a second she believed he wouldn't answer. He surprised her when he walked over and gently cupped her cheek; the look of guilt in his eyes was quickly replaced with a steely resolve. Hermione flinched from his touch and he smiled wryly.

"Family – of course," he whispered.

In that moment Hermione knew they were screwed, because if she understood one thing in the entire world it was that nothing came before family – _nothing_. And this crazy son-of-a-bitch standing in front of her would obviously do anything for his. She and Draco were in more trouble than she could imagine – because these men would stop at nothing to get what they wanted – even if it meant killing them both and half the wizarding world.

_So be it,_ Hermione gulped and looked over at Draco – their eyes met and they both understood what was at stake. Get out alive and save the wizarding world…or die trying.

* * *

**A/N: Well hopefully that satisfied you all just a little! :) I know you all have many questions about what is going on - never fear, the big reveal is coming up! :)**

**Thanks all for the on-going support - the alerts, favourites and reviews make a huge difference!**

**Would love to hear what you thought as usual. Stay classy until next time! :)**


	7. Chapter 7

Watching in horror – Hermione couldn't look away as Herbert grasped the relic in his hands – eyes watering in some emotion. She didn't know if it was happiness at getting what he wanted or if he was just plain crazy. The frustration at not being able to stop him was starting to make her furious. Sure, the world wasn't perfect, never was and never would be – but what gave him the right to change everything? Who was he to decide the past was his to meddle in. In the last fifteen years she had gone through more heartbreak, fear and horror to last three lifetimes and not once had she considered changing it. It was what made her Hermione Granger. Taking away that part of her would be like cheating herself, making her an emotionless drone who had experienced nothing more than the frustration and heartache of not scoring perfectly on her OWLS.

"Finally, Brother – we can make you whole." Herbert grasped Raul's forearm and squeezed it in brotherly love. Hermione wondered what he meant.

She tried moving, but the hired goon was holding her tightly, he felt her testing her restraints and leant down whispering in her ear. "I'm going to have fun teaching you a lesson."

Hermione stiffened at the voice – it was the German she'd knocked out in the forest – could this get any more perfect? She slammed her head back and connected with his nose. Immediately his grip loosened, but before she could make a move – he lashed out smacking the side of her head. The blow made her stagger – _he could sure pack a punch,_ she thought as she fell to one knee. He grasped the scruff of her jumper and held her in that position. Hermione felt a little more than degraded and it made her livid. She saw Draco watching her – something running over his face, it dawned a second later – he was also furious, furious at the German holding her. Her chest gave an unintentional squeeze and she gave him a small half-smile to let him know she was fine – so far. Maybe he wasn't as indifferent to her as she thought.

Suddenly Raul was right in front of Hermione watching her with assessing eyes. Her stomach lurched; he sneered and reached out to touch her face, Hermione couldn't help it and doubled over dry-retching, grateful the German let her have this much dignity and let her go. Thankfully she had nothing to bring up except water – but it still embarrassed her. Her body thrummed with the wrongness of this wizard.

"It seems Ms Granger is more attuned to me than most others of her kind," Raul called to Herbert; who made a non-committal grunt in reply as he inspected the Key in his hands. She wondered what Raul meant…her kind? Did he mean her as a woman?

"We knew the spell wouldn't be perfect, we were lucky to get so many years out of it. Don't worry, Raul; it's only a matter of hours before you become a true wizard. I've perfected the solution – once injected into your embryo it should be more dominant than your Squib lineage."

"What the fuck?" Hermione's voice was extremely loud in the lab; she hadn't meant to say it quite so violently. Draco visibly startled when she yelled out and he looked at her with pleading eyes – he wanted her to be quiet. She could see him working on the rope Darren had lashed around his wrists, but it would take too long for whatever plan he had in mind. Plus she was just starting to come to the horrible realisation of what Raul was.

Almost every person in the lab turned towards her, but she only had eyes for Raul. "That's why you feel wrong – that's why I want to vomit every time you come close, it's The Kin-Slayer curse – you're an abomination to the wizarding world."

Hermione's head slammed back as Herbert suddenly came from nowhere to slap her face. She endured the pain and met his eyes. His own slid to the left after a while – he wasn't proud of what he'd done, but none-the-less, he had done it.

"You wouldn't understand…"

"What's to understand – you made your brother who's a Squib into a wizard using magic not sanctioned for use since the dark ages. Who did you kill, Herbert? Who was the poor schmuck that died so your brother could wield a stolen wand?" She looked around and realised there was more than one wizard who made her stomach turn, and she felt the blood rush out of her face – her whole body began to shiver from a cold she could never warm up from. "My god, you couldn't find anyone to back you up - so you killed dozens of wizards just to fuel your small Squib army."

Herbert now ignored her and walked to the Chest sitting on the bench. Hermione couldn't form a coherent thought which could explain what he had done, the rules he had broken and the deaths that lay at his feet. She had heard of this Kin-Slayer curse – read about it years ago, but never in a million years could she have thought somebody would put it into practise. It was dark magic, really dark – even beyond Voldemort dark. Hermione still couldn't believe Herbert had found a working spell for it, although he obviously had. In a nut-shell it involved the sacrifice of a powerful wizard to reanimate the dormant magic within a Squib. It was not an easy process and had short lasting effects. If Raul had been like this for years then Hermione felt queasy at the amounts of wizards who had died just so he could unlock doors with magic. It wasn't fair.

Draco looked just as shocked and sickened as her and she was glad to see somebody else who understood the horror of what had been going on here. It was the essence of the magic forcibly stolen from a wizard which reacted with Hermione and Draco's equilibrium making them want to vomit. Things fell into place even more – the training wands, men who used guns over magic, the fact William didn't really know how to navigate her wand – Merlin, it took almost seven years in Hogwarts to perfect the art of wand-wielding. Then these men…these abnormal magical Squibs had stolen wands from dead wizards and were trying to use them without any knowledge at all. It was also why these men were from all over the world, it would have taken Herbert a while to pull together enough Squibs who were upset at their unfortunate non-magical genes to attempt an undertaking like this. Hermione's stomach roiled at the sheer thought of what these men had done.

Hermione's haunted eyes met Draco's again; his own grey gaze softened for a second and she felt a kindred spirit in him at the atrocities which had befallen wizards in this very laboratory. It was a defining moment for her – life really was too short, but she had other things to do first before she let her mind wander too far down that path. Suddenly Draco gave her a small nod, did he want her to keep talking? She didn't even find it odd that she could decipher some of Draco's looks now, they really were becoming partners. But, what plan was he forming? Well she wouldn't have to pretend to ask questions – she was brimming with them, but she wasn't sure whether she could stomach some of the answers.

"Even if you manage to get The Grindle Chest to work – how in hell are you going to inject just one embryo? Plus, there is no such 'solution' which can cure being a Squib, no matter the research and development you've done – it's genetic. Raul will always be one, no matter the amount of wizards you kill or laws you break."

"That's a lie!" Herbert yelled at her, face slowly turning red. She knew immediately that he was worried; he had no idea whether it would work or not – it seemed Raul was oblivious to this. Before Hermione could figure out a way to use this to her advantage and play them off the other, a crack sounded in the room, followed quickly by a stream of swear words – in a voice she'd know anywhere.

William Apparated into the room, Christopher next to him, still bound and looking like he'd lost four hundred rounds to an elite boxer, but he was alive. Hermione couldn't help the small cry of delight she let out. She never noticed Draco's small pained expression.

"Are you ok, Christopher?" The German at her back pushed her sharply to be quiet, like hell she would. "Are you?"

The blow wasn't as hard as earlier, but Hermione decided she'd best be a little careful with her smart mouth – she couldn't afford a slight concussion by being smacked around the head too much.

"I'm fine; this look will give me more street cred with the boys at the pub." Christopher managed a small smile, but she saw the worry behind it. If he was joking, he wasn't injured in any way she couldn't see, but they were still in a sticky situation.

Hermione looked around the lab as Herbert, William and Raul studied the Key and the Chest. It was a huge room, full of equipment and tables – a large space in the middle about the size of a basketball court was clear of any obstructions – it was where they were now. Shivering in revulsion Hermione saw the nasty looking instruments on a nearby table – this lab and its scientists were not ones that believed in keeping their tools or work benches disinfected and clean. If the magic and experiments they had been doing were any indications then this lab had been used more than just for Raul's Squib 'problem'. Large naked lights shone from above and Hermione was a little surprised that this facility ran on Muggle electrics and not powered by magic. A plan started to formulate.

Catching Draco's eye was harder than she thought at first; he seemed to be very interested in watching the three men try and figure out how to get The Grindle Chest open, plus he still had no jumper on – it was damn distracting. When his grey eyes finally found hers she frowned in annoyance at his lack of communication – he smirked. It made her stomach jump – regret filled her at the thought she could have had him once, now there seemed little to no chance of having that. If they got out alive, Draco would have no idea what hit him – if he was still interested in her.

She mouthed the words 'Longbottom' and 'library fifth year' to Draco. He looked puzzled for a second before she gestured slightly with a tilt of her head to the lights above them. Suddenly he grinned then hid it immediately – he knew what she was on about, she was glad he had a good memory.

The German tightened his hold on her and Hermione felt a small amount of dismay run through her – she wasn't sure if her idiotic plan could work when she was being held tightly. She tugged a little away from him and felt his grip reattach itself more firmly. Hermione almost laughed – he only had her jumper in hand – her body wasn't being restrained. _Excellent._

Hermione watched the wizards trying to find somewhere to insert the disc looking key, her heart hammering – if they managed to get it to fit – they were toast. She chanced one glance at Christopher who was watching her in obvious fear for her safety. She could almost hear him telling her not to do it – it was too risky. But, when had Hermione Granger ever left a friend in danger?

Shouting out at the top of her lungs in Latin – the wand-less spell took hold and the room fell into blackness. She immediately let herself go boneless and slid out of the jumper to the ground. The German swiped for her, but she scrambled away from him. She heard a yell as Draco obviously fought with the men holding him captive. Hermione still couldn't believe one of the simplest spells in the history of spells worked. It was something Neville accidently discovered in Muggle Studies, in the electric section of the library. Pandemonium broke out as the one wizard who seemed to have no aptitude for any magic suddenly turned the entire electric circuit off with a spell he had no idea about. It was pure chance, and ended up frying Crabbe's eyebrows off somehow (a fact he never let Neville forget for another two years).

She headed for the table where she thought the Chest would be; then slammed into the ground at such a pace when she was tripped, she swore she almost knocked out two of her teeth. The lights came back on and a furious Herbert stood there – his wand drawn and shoved up into the soft fleshy part of Draco's jugular. Her own plans thwarted as William's boot landed squarely on her back – painfully between her shoulder blades. So much for their daring plan to stop a mad-man from going back in time to inject his mother with a solution to cure his Squib twin brother, Hermione let out a bubble of crazed laugher. It was all just too freaking stupid to be real – surely.

The boot pressed even harder and Hermione found it hard to get a decent breath, this was not good. She wondered whether William had her wand right now – was he holding it above her – ready to use it if need be. She felt pure and unadulterated hate flow through her. She couldn't help it – her wand was her life. Without it – who was she?

"Are you done?" Herbert sneered into Draco's face; Hermione craned her neck to watch.

Before Draco could answer, Raul shouted in triumph, Hermione's heart sank. Motioning to Darren and another wizard, they grasped Draco tightly as Herbert moved to the Chest. Watching from her vantage point on the floor Hermione felt her insides seize up at what she could see.

Raul stood there, the Grindle Chest before him – the silver plate size piece of relic inserted into a small gap between the panels on the base of the artefact stolen from Gringotts. As everyone held their collective breaths, Hermione wriggled – William kicked her side. She wheezed in a tight small amount of air and doubled over as much as his boot would let her. Her own weakness made her angry, but the pain of being kicked in the stomach was excruciating.

Then she heard a laugh of absolute glee, Herbert was embracing Raul, who had just slid the key into place. Hermione shut her eyes against the entire sight – they had failed.

* * *

Draco held his breath for what seemed like an hour – and waited. He looked down at Granger pinned to the floor under William's boot and felt a rage he'd never experienced before rise up in his chest. It took his brain a few seconds to catch up with his gut feeling. Hermione Granger had somehow become very important to him; he swallowed hard and glanced down at her huddled form. Her eyes opened for a moment and she caught his gaze, Draco was lost. This witch who he'd never had a kind word to say about, was one of the bravest and most resourceful woman he'd met, she never baulked at the hard decisions and fought earnestly for the good in people. A small voice asked him if _he_ was good enough for someone like her – he blinked once slowly, at what point did he start wanting something more from Granger than sex? A while, a voice whispered.

His gaze rested on Christopher who was watching him steadily, and suddenly the strange new feeling he had for Granger seemed lessened. Draco remembered her telling him in no uncertain terms she was using him for sex – nothing more. For some reason he didn't actually believe her at the time, not really. He couldn't fathom Granger actually having sex for the fun of it – but the taste he had gotten made him crave more. He once had a fleeting thought he'd like to screw her one time to get this odd attraction out of his system – he'd changed his mind. He wanted her – in his bed, for as long as it took. Green eyes held his steadily, and Draco knew he would fight Christopher for a chance to do just that.

Then Christopher flicked his gaze to the side, and Draco saw what he was motioning to. William was distracted by Herbert and Raul, as were Darren and his comrade who held Draco in place. He watched as Christopher slowly brought a hand down to his side, and he realised he wasn't tethered anymore, Draco also had managed to loosen the ropes on his hands – they were both free. The men who were currently holding him had relaxed their grips even further, if he and Christopher were going to make a move – it would have to be now.

Draco glanced over to the two wizards who held the Chest between them; they didn't look as triumphant as a moment before. He watched as Raul took out the small piece of metal and re-inserted it – nothing happened.

Knowing he only had a few seconds to do anything of any use while Raul and Herbert were distracted; Draco caught Granger's gaze again and tried telling her they would be making a move for it with his eyes. He saw her look around at their situation and nod once. She was ready to fight with them – _that's his girl_. He let that particular wayward thought go – deciding he didn't want to analyse why he felt possessive over Granger – especially when her boy-toy was a metre away.

"Did you bloody insert it properly? Give it here you idiot." Herbert's voice was full of annoyance as he grabbed the relic from Raul.

Raul tried to snatch back the Chest and that was the moment mayhem took hold. Draco threw both his arms backwards in a windmill motion, smacking the two men holding him in the faces. As they let go in shock, he spun and punched one in the gut and the other in the jaw. His own stomach clenched as the sick feeling welled up inside of him – but he wasn't too badly affected by it – it was Granger who seemed to be the most sensitive.

One of the men fell down, dazed, and the other, Darren began to fight in earnest. _Shit. _Draco could hear a ruckus behind him and chanced a glance over – only to see Granger wrestling with William – trying to disarm her own wand from his hand. Flashes left the wand as William tried any counter-curse he could think of. Draco knew somebody would get hurt if caught by an errant spell. A hit to his solar-plexus made his knees weak – he'd spent too long watching out for Granger and copped a decent blow. Staggering to the side he fell and lifted up his arm to fend off another blow, Darren wasn't giving him any room for a comeback.

Suddenly Darren was sprawled out on the floor, blood seeping from a cut on his temple - Draco looked up in surprise and caught Christopher's gaze. The tall brunette seemed oddly shocked at what he'd just done – a large pole shook slightly in his hands.

"Nice hit," Draco said and took Christopher's outstretched hand pulling himself to his feet. He wheezed slightly as he tried to get some breath back into his lungs. He didn't have long enough. Another three men barrelled towards them, one held a large machete and another, a wand. Draco knew things were bizarre when he saw the knife wielding goon the biggest threat.

Without thinking he pushed Christopher behind him and took up position; just as quickly he felt a presence by his side. Hermione's idiot boyfriend was making a stand – with Draco. He hated the fact he was starting to like this wizard.

Draco took on the knife wielding man, jumping back at the last moment as he thrust; the blade almost coming in contact with his bare chest. Draco roared and flew at him – more pissed off than he originally thought. His startling attack made the wizard's knife fly off and slide across the floor as Draco got in one good hit to his cheek. He noticed Christopher keeping his own with the other man – disarming him in an instant. Maybe he wasn't a complete idiot after all.

When the man he was fighting began to get in a few good punches, Draco dropped to one knee and swung his other leg in a wide sweeping arc, making his attacker fall with a thump to the ground – the man's head smacking loudly on the floor. He grabbed the pole Christopher had dropped in the melee and took out the third man just as he drew his weapon.

He had to get the Chest or the relic – either one. By some grace of the god's the key they found wasn't working. Whether it had nothing to do with The Grindle Chest or not he didn't know – but they needed a small reprieve and he'd take anything he could get at the moment.

Draco still had one ace up his sleeve but he didn't want to unleash it unless absolutely necessary, it was untested and he wasn't sure of the consequences. Lloyd didn't want him to take it, and if Draco was perfectly honest, he knew Lloyd was right to be concerned. He couldn't reach it before with his arms being held, but he could now. As he flew towards the two wizards he reached into his pocket and felt the small stud against the lining, it was still there. He would only use it as a last resort.

He slammed into the two wizards just as a spell flew past his eyes. William's spell casting was getting out of hand and for a split second he thought about getting to Hermione – but he saw Christopher heading her way. He tried not to feel annoyed, but found it was almost impossible. He had much more important things to do – like stop Herbert from changing the course of history – Granger would be fine with her knight in shining armour. It still made him feel cheated somehow.

As Herbert found his feet and Raul lay sprawled on the floor, Chest in hand, Draco spun to a loud calamity at one end of the laboratory. Another group of men had stormed the room – most held wands,_ more disgusting Squib atrocities_ Draco realised. He couldn't allow Herbert to make any more monsters. It ended here.

* * *

Hermione's head flew back as William got one lucky shot in. He was a terrible fighter – but she was flagging, exhausted and running completely on adrenaline. She awkwardly grasped his wand hand and squeezed with all her might – he muttered spells and strange non-magical commands under his breath. If he had half an inkling how to use her wand properly, she would be in danger – as it was she was just getting frustrated that he'd managed to hold her off for so long.

The Chest didn't work – or if it did, nothing had triggered it yet. Hermione was eternally grateful there wasn't a huge flash of light with Raul and Herbert disappearing to wreak havoc on the wizarding world. So far all the brothers seemed to be doing is ignoring their attempts at fighting back and were more intent on bickering at the other. Hopefully it was enough for either Draco or her to grab the relic and get the hell out of there.

Her nose burned and she felt a sticky wetness escape a nostril – the punch William laid on her had probably broken it – but a crooked nose was the least of her worries as she saw Draco tackle the brothers to the ground – _Merlin he was fearless_. Regardless of his shady dealings and less than stellar reputation, Hermione knew he was completely against what these men were trying to do. The strange feeling in her chest when she thought about Malfoy only got stronger as she saw him fighting to save their world. She shouldn't allow this _like_ to grow into anything more – it would be her undoing. Hermione wasn't sure if she had a choice in the matter anymore.

Suddenly everything seemed to go in slow motion – the wrist she was currently squeezing as tight as possible came around when William gained a burst of strength. A spell flung itself from the end of her wand and Hermione ducked her head at the last second – narrowly missing getting spelled in the face. As she gained her footing, she heard a shocked gasp and grunt of pain from behind her – she spun and saw Christopher grasping his chest as he fell to his knees.

"No!" The word was ripped from her throat, as she watched her best friend fall to the side – green eyes slowly closing.

Anger, bitter and all-encompassing stomped through Hermione's body – she was quivering in rage so thick and polluted in her mind she knew if her wand was in her hand she would use an Unforgivable Curse. This thought should have scared her witless – it no longer did. She immediately let go of William's wrist at the same time as she hooked her leg around his knee and yanked. He flailed for a moment and Hermione pushed herself against him at the same time. They fell hard and heavy and Hermione knocked every ounce of air from his body. Her wand flew from his grip and landed about ten feet away. Hermione didn't care – she had him exactly where she wanted. Her small hand wrapped around his neck as she pushed. William's eyes bugged – she didn't care at all. There was somebody else riding Hermione at the moment and her sane and reasonable mind was not in control.

Hermione began punching him in the face, stomach – anywhere she could reach while still pushing on his windpipe. After a few frenzied moments, she felt William go limp under her. Bile rose, _what had she done? _She saw a slight movement of breath – he'd just passed out. She couldn't help but feel relief, although it was tinged in a small amount of regret – he needed to be punished for what he'd done.

Jumping up, Hermione ran to Christopher and pulled him onto his back, his skin was a pale grey and she couldn't feel his heartbeat. Tears streamed down her face mixing in with the blood from her nose, she didn't know the spell William used and even if he was awake he'd have no idea either. Helplessness warred with her absolute need to make these men pay.

Knowing it was probably helpless, Hermione leant over and gave Christopher mouth to mouth, pushing her tight fists on his chest for 3 compressions before breathing into him again. Before she could check if it was working or not she was knocked onto her back by another man – Hermione's entire vision blurred and all she saw was a wave of red which engulfed everything. Couldn't she even have two minutes to try and save her best friends life – no matter how hopeless it was?

Bellowing like a mad-woman she rolled straight over and jumped to her feet, swinging her leg around in a kick – the blow smacking straight into her attackers face as he knelt over her. Hermione didn't even feel the shock of it run up her leg, even though she struck him with an inordinate amount of strength. She got up grabbing the knife from the now unconscious man's grip. Waving it around she ran for the next group of men that were heading towards Draco, Herbert and Raul – who were also exchanging blows. Herbert couldn't use his wand as they were all so close together, he must be worried about hitting his brother Hermione realised. Hopefully Draco would use it to his advantage – if she could help him get rid of some of these other men.

Hermione knew deep inside they were outnumbered and most likely out-classed but she didn't care. She and Draco worked well together – they had gotten this far and she intended them to go all the way, even if it killed them. She felt a great shudder rip through her body as she thought of Christopher lying on the cold ground of a bunker in a country she knew he never wanted to visit. It wasn't fair – none of this was. Herbert and Raul had messed with the very nature of magic, the very rules and laws which governed them as wizards. Death would be too good for them. Hermione knew her thought pattern was not like her – but she was beyond care. They had messed with her chosen family – she would mess with them.

Two men broke off from the group and came at her while the rest headed straight for Draco and the Chest. Hermione ran for them and using all her strength she thrust her fisted right hand into an uppercut so hard the man's eyes flew straight back into his head and he dropped. She caught her breath and blinked as the other man stopped in his tracks and watched her warily. Not only was _he_ slightly scared - Hermione had scared herself silly. Where had this adrenaline fuelled strength and ability come from? She had heard of mothers lifting cars off their children in times of great peril – was her absolute fury at Christopher's treatment giving her extra power? It didn't matter, she would use it.

Grasping the handle of the dagger in her fist, Hermione lined the flat of the blade up against her forearm. She feinted to the left and the man flinched slightly and dodged. He raised his arms up ready to fight her, Hermione obliged. She had no intention of stabbing him, it was one thing to feel murderous and another to act upon it. He came forward first and Hermione blocked him with her left elbow, quick as anything she slammed her other elbow into the side of his head as she spun. Having no idea where the manoeuvre came from, she went with it and kept spinning until she was behind him. Then quick as lightening she slammed the butt of the knife into his temple – he fell. This was too easy Hermione thought to herself.

Hermione watched as about four men crowded around Malfoy who was fighting like a cornered bull. She had to do something. Tucking the knife in the back of her jeans, she looked around for another weapon. Hearing a yell she quickly looked up to see three people fleeing the area – it was Herbert, Raul and another man, and they had the Chest. Hermione couldn't believe it. After everything they had done to stop them, the bad guys were getting away – she couldn't let this happen. Draco still had to contend with three more armed men and these didn't look like the novices Hermione had the luck to get.

She saw a wand lying near William's still form and felt a wash of relief flow through her body at such a rate it made her feel light-headed. _Her wand _– the one she'd been a part of since she was eleven was waiting for her. Hermione saw a man break off and sprint for her; she flew towards the fallen wand. At the last minute Hermione slid on her knees towards it, grasping it just as the man caught her braid and yanked. He was too late, her fingers had seized her wand and she flung a stunning spell at him – he sailed from her body and landed in a heap. Getting to her feet, Hermione stalked towards Draco and the men who decided to rush him at once.

Feeling like an avenging angel, Hermione strode forward, picking the men off one at a time – until only a battered and bruised Draco remained watching her. Before she could utter thanks that he was still standing and in one piece, he took two big strides towards her and engulfed her in the tightest embrace she'd ever been on the receiving end of. Draco buried his face in her neck while lifting her slightly off the ground. Her stomach came alive and burst into nervous energy at Draco's uncharacteristic show of emotion, and the fact he was half naked came into the fray as well. She slowly slid down to the ground again and looked up, eyes wide. She got caught in Draco's intense grey gaze; he truly did have hypnotically gorgeous eyes. He went to speak, but stopped himself and gave her upper arm a squeeze instead. Hermione would have given anything at that moment to know what he'd been about to utter.

A noise from behind them made Hermione jerk around, the moment broken. Great, she thought - all she needed now was to have one of the men curse her with a stolen wand. But what greeted her eyes made all the air in her lungs whoosh out in one amazing breath. She lunged forward falling to her knees, not caring about the pain which shot up her leg at landing heavily on the concrete.

"Holy hell, Christopher – never ever and I mean _ever_ – do that again. I'm serious, I don't care if you're three hundred years old, can hardly see and yell because you're deaf as a post – you can never die on me, I love you too much to let you go – you hear me?"

A strained chuckle came from Christopher who was slowly trying to sit up. Hermione didn't let him get too far, she threw herself at him in a tight hug before letting go then pushed on his chest so he stayed lying on the floor. He didn't look like he should be moving at all, he still had a sickly pallor but he was breathing - and watching something behind her shoulder. Hermione grinned in relief and spun her head looking around at Draco; he was pointedly not looking at them his mouth in a thin line. He picked his jumper off the floor and jerked it on.

Her smile dropped as Draco spoke in a low clipped professional voice. "You have to get him out of here – use your wand and Apparate to the Ministry's Development Department and ask for Randy – you can trust him – he'll get help."

Draco started to walk off, Hermione looked down at Christopher and he whispered 'go' to her. She jumped up and caught Draco's arm before he got too far, he wrenched it free. She frowned at his almost violent action.

"What the hell do you think you're going to do then?" She was fuming, not even sure why. "And you said trust no one in the Ministry – case point, Herbert."

"I'm going to do what I can to stop these wizards from destroying the world I love, and I said _you_ can't trust anyone. You may be smart but you're a terrible judge of character." With one last long look at her face which made her catch her breath he turned and started to jog down a long hallway, the lights above him flickered as he made his way along it. For some reason his words struck her deep inside. His sarcasm wasn't lost on her; she _had _trusted the wrong people. The sight of his retreating back, alone and on a mission made Hermione feel bereft, she should be by his side. Hell, she was losing her mind; she collected relics – not hunted down bad guys in a life and death situation. But the longing stuck in her.

"Go, I'll be fine." Christopher's weak voice pleaded with her. "He needs you more than I do."

Hermione looked down at her best friend and then at the small figure of Draco heading off to almost certain danger and maybe death. She made a decision.

Thrusting her wand into Christopher's clammy fingers she tightened his grip on it. Ignoring his eyes which were as big as saucers she leant down and kissed him lightly on the forehead. "Apparate to the Ministry, ask for Randy – get help if you can."

Christopher went to protest but could see in the set of her eyes she wouldn't change her mind. Instead he grabbed her arm, "I approve."

Frowning Hermione looked at her friend blankly, "approve of what?"

"Draco – he's crazy about you." Hermione shook her head in denial, but before she could tell him he was completely wrong he kept speaking. "Now go and help him while I get the back-up which will save your arse – which in fact will mean _I_ have saved the day…not you." Christopher gave her an exhausted cheeky grin which she couldn't help but return.

As she ran off after Draco she heard the crack of Christopher's departure and felt relief her friend was out of danger. Whether he could get help in time remained to be seen. It looked like once more the weight of the wizarding world was on Draco and her shoulders and nobody even knew it.

Christopher's words kept running through her head, could Draco like her in return? It was too preposterous to think on. Sure he wanted to sleep with her – but she also returned that need. It had to be the years of repressed anger at each other manifesting itself into a lust, one she had every intention of slaking if she got the chance. The hardest part to her small and not so well-planned out idea – hiding the fact she actually liked the Prat, if he found out he would surely hold it against her for the rest of her life. Putting it out of her head for the moment, she decided she could worry about the state of their affairs when they managed to get out of this alive. First they had two crazy brothers to thwart and a magical artefact to steal back – it sounded a lot easier when she put it like that. Hermione knew it would be anything but.

* * *

**A/N: Hey there everyone - hopefully that cleared up and explained a few things for you all! :) Seriously - I have had so much fun writing and posting this story - you have all been absolutely amazing and wonderful in all your alerts, favourites and reviews - much love to you all x**

**I can't believe there are only a couple more chapters left, this whole process once started seems to fly by! Anyway - as always would love to hear your thoughts - and thanks again so much for reading!**

**K~**


	8. Chapter 8

As she ran down the long corridor Hermione couldn't help but wonder if she'd been knocked in the head one too many times to have made this decision. Four days ago, she was just a relic hunter/antiquities specialist who owned a small gallery and helped fund the new wing at London's Museum of Magical History. Today she was trying to save the world with an old enemy who had inadvertently gotten under her skin so deep she wasn't sure if she'd ever be able to completely dislodge him. Huffing at her wayward thoughts she finally saw the object of them up ahead.

Draco spun around fists up when he heard her approach; she came forward hands up in surrender. When he saw who it was his face changed quickly from fight to surprise and then to anger.

"What the hell are you doing, Granger? You're supposed to be a thousand miles away – safe." He ran a hand through his hair violently then dropped it and glared at her. His anger was catching. Why shouldn't she be here? Why was it so absurd to think Hermione Granger may just want to help save the world – for the second time? She had a great track record so far.

"Safe is over-rated," she replied and pushed past him to see around the corner he was pressed up against. It was another hallway with two men standing nonchalantly at the end guarding a door. Typical – they had Squibs everywhere. Hermione realised Draco still hadn't answered and she looked up at his face.

Draco just continued to stare at her like she was mad, maybe she was. She didn't care.

"That's not the point – Harry will have my hide if you get harmed, hell the whole wizarding community will hunt me down if a hair so much as leaves your head. We've had too many close calls – you shouldn't be here." His eyes narrowed as he grasped her forearm and pulled her back from looking around the corner again. Held in his grip and intense gaze, Hermione didn't know what to think. Suddenly Draco closed his eyes and let out a harsh breath before whispering, "If something happened to you….I couldn't forgive…"

Her stomach came alive as his words trailed off, "I'm a big girl, Malfoy – I make my own calls. You're my partner – we made a pact to get the Chest and here I am holding up my end of the bargain. Now, are you just going to stand there and bitch at me like a little girl – or will you man up and help me fight Herbert and Raul?"

The narrowing of Draco's eyes should have scared her – he was pissed off, somehow she had ceased to worry about his temper tantrums and found them amusing instead. Hermione looked up into his angry grey eyes and knew instantly what she had to do, it was no longer a choice of _if_ she should do it; it suddenly was a necessity. Before Draco had a chance to shove her away, Hermione raised herself to her tip toes and pushed him against the wall all while snaking her hand around his head to catch the hair at the base of his neck. Pulling his head forward, she held herself against his lips, breathing him in while letting the softness of their mouths touch minutely – she felt his ragged breathing before he captured her bottom lip in his.

Groaning into the sensation, Draco teased her with small nips. Before Hermione could even form the thought this was an inappropriate place and time to be kissing, he had spun her around until she was pressed against the cold wall. The shock of the coolness at her back and the intense heat from Draco made her head swim. She loved being manhandled. For all her independence and strong willed manner, Hermione adored having a man take control, it made her lose all inhibitions – she was at their mercy. And being at Malfoy's was now one of the most appealing ideas ever. Hermione made a pact in her mind – they w_ere _going to survive this – no questions, otherwise she was making sure they came back from the dead to consummate this unlikely union.

Hermione opened her mouth and Draco didn't disappoint – his tongue snaked in to wrestle with hers while his hands gripped her arse, pulling her tight against him. Lord he was excitable, it called to her hormones as all she wanted to do was rip his bloody clothes off and kiss every inch of his muscled body. A shard of lust raced through her groin at the thought of having Malfoy at her beck-and-call sexually, imagining being able to do anything at any time with no repercussions or embarrassment. It made her grab his head with both hands and really pull herself against him – she felt his surprise at her fervour in the way he held his body.

Panting heavily he pulled away from her – she followed, nipping at the corner of his mouth – he groaned. "Granger, you _really_ will be the death of me…."

She trailed her fingers down the front of his ripped jumper and fisted it, pulling him in; it caught him off guard as her lips met his hungrily again. No longer did she worry about the future – right this very second her body was alive, it thrummed with a need – the need to have Malfoy. For a moment Hermione forgot where they were as Draco's deep throated growls infiltrated her hearing. Merlin he was sexy – how had she missed it? Sometimes being the most stubborn person on the planet was not conducive to a well-rounded sexual experience. She planned on rectifying this as soon as possible.

Much later but not long enough Draco pulled away from her with one last lingering brush to her lips, and looked down at her frowning. Something washed over his face as he looked at her mouth again, as if trying to talk himself out of touching her.

"What about your _boyfriend_…?" Draco asked quietly as he pulled further away, placing more distance between them than Hermione liked.

Was that why he was hesitant? Did Malfoy actually care she could be in a relationship? Somehow this made her like him even more – he had scruples. Even though he had kissed her back just as passionately – it was still in his mind. He just kept surprising her at every turn. "Yeah – about that…"

Before she could confess Christopher was her best friend and nothing more, a guard came around the corner, gun raised.

"I told you I heard something." He called to the other man.

Malfoy began to raise his arms in surrender but as they came up past his chest he struck out like a snake. His fist pelted right past the gun and smacked into the man's throat. He immediately dropped to the floor gasping for air just as the other man shot at them. Hermione yanked Draco back around the corner as the bullet whizzed past.

Hermione crouched down and felt out around the corner trying to grasp the fallen man's gun, all while Draco dove out into the open rolling on his back in a perfect arc. She heard another shot and a grunt and she jumped out instead of being careful – gun in hand, only to see the other guard flat on his back with Malfoy pressuring his chest with his boot. Hermione looked between the two men Draco managed to knock down without even breaking a sweat.

"You need to teach me some of your tricks," she told him as he punched the man's jaw he was partially standing on – making sure he'd passed out before leaving him on the ground.

Draco raised an eyebrow and smirked, "Granger, some of my tricks would have you coming in mere seconds…pity you're already taken," then he walked off towards the door leaving her breathless and turned on. _Merlin, she wanted him. _Screw sanity – it was boring.

Before they breached the two large doors at the end of the hall, Hermione grabbed Draco's arm, he looked down questioningly. She needed to clear this up – now.

"Christopher is my best friend – _only _my friend – if anything, I should be worried he likes you not me, you're more his type…"

She didn't get any further as Draco had pulled her up against him lifting her from the ground and devouring her with a kiss so hot she wouldn't have been surprised if smoke was rising from her body.

"Why the fuck didn't you tell me?" He growled against her lips as he pulled her into a deeper kiss, one which had her gasping in need – hell's why _didn't_ she tell him earlier if this was going to be his response? "You realise when we get out of here – you aren't leaving my bed until we are thoroughly fucked out?"

Hermione's stomach clenched at the possessive crude words, but as much as her heart was hammering in her chest – she needed to set ground rules. Ones she could live with when Draco had had enough of her. She had her heart to protect after all – and she didn't need Draco making a home in there as well. "As I said before – we could die – if we get out, we use each other until sated."

Draco's grip slowly loosened as he let her slip to the ground and she frowned up at him – he'd gone from hot to cold in three seconds flat. "What if I want more than…"

The door swung open violently – Hermione cursed, why the hell did things keep interrupting Draco just when she felt he was about to say something important? Was he about to tell her he wanted more than a screw? No, not possible – Draco Malfoy didn't do long-term. Well, according to the wizarding gossip magazines he didn't, not that she devoured articles on him or anything. But she couldn't think about it anymore as another man the size of a mountain stood before them – a machine gun in each hand trained on them both.

"For fuck's sake," Draco grumbled while they both dropped their weapons. The Mountain told them to precede him down the next hallway; they had no choice but to comply.

Hermione had never seen such a large human being and wondered if he was part giant – he had another three feet on Hagrid. She and Draco looked at each other and knew even if one ducked to the side – the Beast held two machine guns – one of them would die if he decided to let a spray loose.

As they walked, Hermione prayed to the Goddess – surely something would have to go their way, so far since they got to this compound nothing had worked for them. Every time they tried to escape or formulate a plan it was thwarted almost immediately – it was bloody frustrating. She hoped like anything that Herbert or Raul still hadn't worked out how to make the Grindle Chest activate.

They were marched into another smaller room – it was a large executive type office. A huge plate glass window overlooking an underground shed took up one entire wall, the space below was full of Muggle jeeps, trucks and if she wasn't mistaken weapon chests – lots of chests, she blanched – it looked like Herbert was getting ready for a war.

Raul and Herbert were in the room still removing and replacing the small sliver of metal she and Draco had found on the mountain top. Herbert's face was red in anger, and his furious eyes found Hermione and he lost it.

Walking over he grabbed her around the neck squeezing – Hermione spluttered and she immediately felt her windpipe buckle under his grip. Wheezing and gasping painfully she saw Draco trying to wrestle away from the Mountain who held him impassively as if he were no more than an annoying mosquito.

"Why the fuck is it not working? What did you steal? Or did you swap them out – I swear if you don't answer me I will kill you where you stand." His grip tightened and Hermione felt her face go red hot at the lack of oxygen – she would only last another second or two before she passed out.

"Let her go, you moron – she can't bloody answer you if she can't breathe." Draco's voice cracked like a whip in the small room. The constriction around her throat lessened and she gasped in a breath of slightly stale air – it didn't matter though, it was as sweet as anything to her lungs.

"I'd say…." She took in another lungful of air, "It's because…"

Herbert leaned in closer, mouthing 'yes' as she breathed deeply again, "You're a fucking disgrace to the wizarding community, and good always wins over evil – or so the fairy tales say."

Her head snapped back as Herbert flung her against the wall so hard the crack she heard had to come from the wall, not her head – although the shooting pain and bright light she saw behind her eyes made her think otherwise.

While she crumpled to the floor hearing Draco roar in anger she squinted up looking with one eye partially open – it was all she could do without passing out. Reaching behind her head she felt something wet and looked up at the wall behind her. Hermione almost passed out as she saw the trail of red sliding down to where she sat. It didn't look or feel good at all. Ignoring the screaming protests in her head she gingerly managed to get to her knees, dry-retching from the pain – or was it Raul? Hermione was finding it hard to think straight – this would not do. Steeling her resolve, she took in a few deep breaths as she concentrated on getting her feet back underneath her.

"I'm going to use you, Draco Malfoy," she heard Herbert state. "Raul is almost ready for another booster – since you have so unhelpfully got us the wrong key and I can't go back in time to save him from his Squib lineage – I'm going to take your magic to reanimate his for the next year – surely somebody as powerful as you will keep him going for a lot longer than the last wizard."

Suddenly in a flash or maybe it was Hermione's disjointed vision, Draco was on his knees before Herbert. Startled, she knew if something wasn't done in a few seconds she would lose Draco for good and then it didn't matter if Herbert did manage to go back and change the past, as she suddenly realised – _her future would be gone._ Hermione's chest tightened in panic – no, this couldn't be it. Her palms broke out in sweat as her stomach whirled in fear – it wasn't fear for herself, she would not lose Draco – not like this.

As he raised his wand, Hermione got to her feet ignoring the screaming in her head which she wasn't sure was real or not. No one was watching her – Raul looking sickly and unwell sat at the desk observing Draco with something akin to hunger in his eyes, and the Mountain had his back towards her, gun trained on Malfoy. Only Draco could see her and his eyes widened when he saw her unsteadily gain her footing. His expression didn't change but she could see him begging her not to move – had he accepted his fate? W_ell it didn't matter because she bloody well hadn't_.

Then she saw her solution – it was a long shot – hell, it was a passing fancy and had no substance as a plan or idea – but she loved Muggle spy movies and she knew it would work. Even if it didn't it was better to be killed while fighting back, Hermione would never kick up her heels and play dead.

Dragging her feet a little she gained a small amount of speed and ripped one of the machine guns from the Giant, he was too startled as the leather strap came loose – finally something went Hermione's way. As she ran past she pointed it at the glass window and began to shoot – the gun jumped about in her hands, she was too weak to completely control it and the spray went far and wide.

Raul fell down behind the desk away from her haphazard shooting while Herbert dived in behind him. The Mountain wasn't so lucky and his arm caught a few errant bullets. Hermione didn't have the time or energy to feel too bad – but he would survive. Draco jumped up and followed her as they barged towards the window which had completely shattered. Dropping the large, heavy and now spent gun they barrelled towards to glass – and jumped against it – Draco at the last minute pulling her close and grasping her in a ball against his chest as he used his back as a battering ram on the remaining glass which hadn't fallen. The splintering of glass infiltrated her hearing – louder than the buzzing in her ears. She felt her skin cut in places but nothing too deep as they fell. They were out of the office and suddenly they had a chance again – it was all she could ask for as the pain became excruciating behind her eyes.

* * *

Draco waited to hit the ground in a bone-crunching smack – it didn't happen. Instead his back landed against fabric which went so taut it ripped and he fell through to a tray on the back of a Jeep. Hermione's limp form crashed with him. His body took most of the shock of impact thankfully, as Hermione's head was still nestled against his chest. Draco looked up from where they fell in surprise. Granger had once again completely blown his mind – how in hell had she managed to make an escape especially after the injury she'd sustained.

Thinking on that for a moment he looked down, his hand was cradling the back of her head and when he removed it, blood covered his hand.

"Granger…" he shook her slightly – he got no response – his body went cold as his stomach dropped.

She couldn't be… he wouldn't let her be… "You even think about dying on me, I'll come and find you in the after-life and annoy you with Pureblood jokes until you scream."

He felt a small shift as her chest took in a sharp painful breath, he felt relief flood him, pure and sweet – he couldn't hide from it any more – he wanted Granger, he wanted her for as long as she would put up with him – which with their track record could be minutes, though he was hoping for a little longer.

Draco placed her gently on the tray and jumped out the back of it – looking for anything he could use as a weapon – the Grindle Chest wasn't working – he had that much to be thankful for. But, there were still two bat-shit crazy wizards gunning for his death and as he'd just discovered, he had something worth fighting for now.

He heard a bellow and looked up just as Herbert threw a spell from the window – it missed Draco by an inch. He needed to find better cover. Hoping Granger would be safe in the Jeep he ran across the room to the chest of Muggle weapons he'd spied earlier – hoping against hope there were loaded guns inside.

Running as fast as he could, he dodged another two spells before catching one on the ankle – it flipped him over in the air three times before he slammed into the ground hard. Groaning as his shoulder flared in pain he rolled over and watched while Herbert made his way down a flight of stairs coming from the office – _of course there would have been stairs._ He quite liked the spectacular way Granger got them out of the room better though.

He watched warily as Herbert passed the Jeep without looking in it – maybe he didn't see Granger inside. Draco crawled to his knees and saw the treasure trove of weapons just out of reach – he tried to sidle to the side but Herbert stopped him with a waggle of his wand. Draco had no choice but to wait and hopefully come out of this situation on top with only using his wits.

"I_ will_ have your life-force - Pureblood wizards always last longer than those born of Muggles! Don't move an inch."

Draco stayed kneeling, and waited for Herbert to start ranting again – he was like most ego-centric wizards in the world and wouldn't be able to help telling everyone his plans. All Draco had to do was wait and take any opportunity available to him. Once more he fingered the small spell in his pocket and a chill went through him when he thought about using it. It could potentially do more harm than good.

As Herbert flicked his wand – Draco realised in surprise he _wasn't_ going to stand there talking about his master plan. Flinging himself to the side, Draco narrowly missed the stream of red coming from Herbert's wand. He threw himself forward and rolled four times before crashing into Herbert's legs – the startled wizard flailed and fell – Draco managing to gain the upper-hand finally.

Suddenly a wand was pointed directly at his temple – _oh shit._

Herbert began to speak in Latin, and Draco felt an unearthly pull from deep inside of him – he screamed from the agony. Blearily through the pain he looked around for anything he could use to stop the barrage of suffering. He couldn't see anything, he only had himself. He thought quickly on Granger lying crumpled in the back of the Jeep and knew if he didn't man up and fight back through this torture she was as good as dead – he didn't care what happened to himself, but Granger was worth something in the wizarding world – she needed to live.

Pain cut through his thoughts and he managed to use it to his advantage – lifting his hand up slowly in agony he grasped Herbert's wand hand – he saw Herbert start in surprise. It felt like red hot knives were continually piercing his head, bright spots littered his vision and he was running completely on adrenaline, fear and another strange emotion which felt a lot like wanting to protect something special – Granger.

He bent his hand with all his might – fighting against the unnatural spell which was draining him of his magic. Sweat fled down his face, stinging his eyes and his breath was laboured but finally Herbert's hand began to move.

The pain fled as the wand flicked to the side. Draco wanted, no he _needed_ a moment to take a breath in – but he knew he couldn't afford the luxury as Herbert immediately trained the wand back at him. Draco dropped to the floor and rolled until his back hit a large crate. As a spell hit beside his head followed by a roar of anger from Herbert, Draco somehow succeeded to get to his feet and he slipped behind the large weapons chest.

Climbing up he saw the crate full of Muggle guns and ammunition. He managed to grab a gun and a handful of shells and fell down again to his arse; he was still in so much pain the jolt up his back didn't even register. As his shaking hands loaded the weapon as quickly as he could, Herbert strode around the corner.

Time slowed down to nothing as Draco raised the gun and Herbert's wand exploded with light. Pain hit Draco in such a force every last breath disappeared from his chest – it was too much – he couldn't survive. Then he heard a loud bang, and suddenly he was back in the game. Herbert squealed and fell to the side holding onto his upper thigh – an inordinate amount of blood was welling.

Draco had managed to squeeze the trigger – whether it was a reaction of his body from the pain or not he didn't care. Draco stumbled to his feet and saw the Jeep, there was no movement from inside, Granger had to be okay; he couldn't fathom a life without the annoying witch anymore.

Jumping to his feet, Draco ran for her – his heart pounding.

"It's working!"

Over Herbert's pained yelps Draco looked up in utter horror. Raul stood on the threshold of the stairs leading from the office – the Chest in his hand was now glowing. _Oh fuck._

They were out of time – they were completely out of luck and Draco had no other choice. He gripped the small metal object in his pocket and ran for Granger – hoping like hell they would be protected from the spell if he was the one to activate it. He had no idea – this spell was completely untested. Draco's heart pounded in fear for their safety and not sure what in hell he was doing he ran for the Jeep jumping in the back. He slid towards Granger's limp body and grabbed hold of her.

As his movement jostled her, he saw with sweet relief her eyes open, they were pained and confused.

"Don't worry, I've got you – you're safe now." He cradled her head gently against his chest being mindful of her injury – he'd never felt so grateful to see somebody move in his life.

Draco heard her breath hitch and he looked down at her; she was smiling weakly, eyes wet. Her hand reached for his face and cupped it a moment, 'I thought I'd died."

"Not on my watch, Granger."

"Thank you, Draco – you really are one of the good guys." she whispered while her hand dropped as she slid into unconsciousness again. Draco stared down at the small witch in wonder, her words making a fast track to his chest which for lack of a better word was pulsing radically. Hermione Granger liked him – he was certain of it. It was now imperative to escape so he could use this information against her and make her see he was worthy of a date or fifty.

Then suddenly everything stopped going in slow motion and sped up. He pulled Hermione from the back of the jeep, holding her against his chest – and stopped dead in his tracks.

Draco watched as Herbert finally realised he still had a wand in his hand and pointed it at them – he watched as Raul chuckled evilly as only a mad-man can and he watched as his own finger depressed on the small metal stud he was holding. Yelling out the trigger word he saw Raul's face slacken at what started to happen. Herbert looked around in shock and fury – even with his wand he couldn't do anything to stop what Draco had put into motion. Raul screamed as the stairs buckled beneath him and the Chest tumbled to the floor still glowing - Herbert could do nothing but watch. As the roof began to cave – Herbert's shocked form fell to the ground – Draco looked away as light flashed so bright it hurt his retinas. He wasn't sure what had happened to the wizard – did he self-combust?

Draco looked up as the world around him buckled and fell – the spell in his hand burning hot against his palm – but he dared not drop it in case he too became part of the spell. He could now see why Lloyd didn't want this weapon unleashed in its untested form– and Draco would make sure that would never happen again _if…when _ he got out. The stud in his hand was supposed to make the area into a magical dead zone, which in effect could be dangerous if you were in a situation where you relied heavily on magic. All Draco wanted it to do was stop The Grindle Chest from activating further and to stop Herbert's wand. The stud had been designed to create a blast zone of a few hundred metres only, but as Draco looked around something else was happening instead and his chest tightened in fear – what had he unleashed?

The spell began to twist and turn the compound into an unrecognisable shell – metal pylons and concrete walls fell and warped around him. As the roof above them dipped and curled he held his breath – Granger and he remained unscathed, so far. He chanced a glance away from the destruction to check on her – she was pale – oh so pale and he felt his heart contract in his chest. This couldn't be it – he couldn't lose her just when he finally admitted she was somebody worth fighting for. Gripping her tighter he watched the world wither away around him. He needed to find them an escape – no matter how protected he thought they were – when the entire compound came down around their ears they would still be trapped. He didn't think that he could get them out without a wand and that thought scared him – what would happen if he couldn't get Granger to medical attention immediately?

Fearfully he looked up as a huge metal and concrete slab teetered and fell, he crouched low over Granger's body and waited for the impact – nothing came. The plateau had caught on another pylon which fell at the exact right moment and it all hung suspended about fifteen feet above their heads. Dust and concrete particles fell on and around them, making Draco cough and he found he couldn't see more than three feet around him. His vision was cut off due to all the debris floating in the air. He had to go on a little faith they would remain unharmed – there was nothing else he _could_ do.

Draco had no idea what had happened to the other Squibs and men in the compound – he had no way of knowing how wide-spread this spell would go – was it just this room or a fifty mile radius? He kept telling himself it was the only choice – he couldn't do anything else _but_ use the spell. He hoped he hadn't unleashed something unstoppable. But, before he could finish the thought that he might be the wizard to destroy the world; the twisting metal stopped.

Looking around he saw Granger and he were cocooned in a small space, no bigger than the inside of a car – but they were safe. A grin spread across his face, it was short lived.

He used his jumper and ripped shreds off it to staunch the blood from Hermione's head wound – it looked terrible and he felt unease run through him. He had no idea how long he sat there running his fingers across her forehead, willing her to wake up and smile at him – it could have been minutes or hours.

Finally he knew he had to do something – but what? Then before he could formulate a plan to get them out he heard a noise.

Placing Granger carefully on the ground behind him he stood up as far as he could. Slightly stooped he waited as he heard voices outside their small space – was it the other Squibs coming to finish the job – he didn't know – but who else?

He readied his weary body and mind to fight as the metal before him crunched and moved – whoever was on the other side was using magic – so it couldn't be anyone from the compound he reasoned – _unless the spell only affected this one room, _he thought dryly.

Suddenly the pylon before him moved and before he could punch out, a familiar face was peering back at him grinning ear to ear.

"Christopher…?" Draco whispered disbelievingly. The bruised and battered dark haired wizard held out his hand and Draco had never seen anything so welcoming, Granger could sometimes be a great judge of character.

"I told you I'd save the day - need some help?"

Draco grinned back and grabbed Christopher's hand tightly.

* * *

A splitting headache was what greeted Hermione when she finally opened her eyes. Waiting a moment or two before attempting to move her head she looked up at the white ceiling and wondered for a moment where she was - St Mungos? Looking to her left she saw no machines or nurses near the bed – but what she saw made her catch her breath. The room she was in was in no way, shape or form a hospital room. It was one of the most beautiful bedrooms she'd ever seen, the sheets beneath her were of such a high thread count she didn't know if the number actually existed, the quilt over her was the type which screamed light and fluffy and cocooned her like a small child – she felt safe.

The furnishings were extremely expensive, but understated in only a way a great interior designer could manage. A huge arrangement of native flowers sat on the sideboard across from the bed. Hermione wouldn't be able to name half the flowers within it – but the fragrance was crisp and clean, not too flowery – it too was perfect for her. Her eyes flicked above the vase and she saw a piece of artwork on the wall and gasped when she saw the artist's signature – she knew of them and they never charged less than six figures – where the hell was she? Wherever it was she needed to transport this room to her house – it was stunning.

Holding a hand to her head she sat up gingerly, the sharp pain was now turning into a small throb at the base of her neck.

"Hello…" her voice was crackly from under use and she coughed a little, she needed to find out where this amazing room was situated.

Suddenly the door opened and a small beautiful petite blonde witch came through, wearing a complete bio-hazard suit – _what in hell?_

"Hermione, you're awake – how do you feel?"

Ignoring the fact this woman knew her name, she squinted and felt the back of her head – there was a small bump – nothing more. "Um – apart from a headache I'm fine…not to be rude, but where the hell am I? And why are you dressed like I'm a nuclear warhead?"

The small woman smiled and placed a wand on Hermione's wrist – she tried to pull back but a soothing feeling took over her and the headache disappeared.

"You're in quarantine; the spell Mr Malfoy used hadn't been tested, so until we know what its effects are – you're stuck here. You should be let out in the next week or two."

"Week or two…" her words trailed off, she felt anger well. Malfoy had used an unsanctioned spell – who cared if it saved the world – she was stuck in a room. Ok, she was being unreasonable but small spaces drove her mad. The nurse continued to check her over using a combination of Muggle and magical devices, she eventually hummed in approval.

"Don't worry – you have free reign over the unit now – we were just here until you woke up. But since you don't seem to be suffering any other trauma except a slight headache, I'm leaving you some painkillers in the kitchen, no more than eight in twenty four hours though. There is a phone if you need anything else; and no performing magic until you get out and get the all clear. The Minister will be in contact soon."

The Minister, Hermione thought groggily as the woman left the room. It took a few moments for Hermione to gather her wits and she swung her legs over the side of the bed – immediately holding the side of it as her vision swam. She was stuck in a unit; that much she gathered. What the hell kind of spell had Malfoy used?

As her feet hit the carpet she almost groaned again – this time in utter pleasure. Her toes sank into the thick cream coloured flooring. Hermione didn't even realise carpet could be so thick – it was like stepping onto a pillow. The decadence of this place was lost on her – surely the Ministry wouldn't have put her up here – they were budget conscious too.

She slowly went for the door trying not to curl her toes in pleasure with every step on the carpet, and when she reached the large wooden door she found no resistance so she pulled it open. Looking down the hallway, Hermione couldn't see anyone in sight. Keeping her footsteps light she walked down the corridor, the walls were covered in pictures, scenes of rivers and trees, it was almost homey. She past a few shut doors but didn't try them – at the end of the passage was a lounge-room. A huge 'L' shaped leather couch took up the space and the biggest TV in the history of TV's was plastered to the wall. Books littered the coffee table and wizard and Muggle movies took up the rest of the space. Where in hell was she?

The next room was the kitchen which was completely filled with food and she saw her small vial of pain-killers next to another one – which had Draco's name on them. _What the?_

Deciding she'd had enough and needed to escape she went to the first closed door in the hall; opening it she saw a huge master bedroom. If she thought the room she had woken up in was amazing – it had nothing on this room. The view was spectacular – one entire wall was a window which overlooked the ocean – she knew then she wasn't anywhere near London. The ridiculously large and clearly masculine bed was mussed, somebody was here, and she had a fair idea who it was.

Fighting the hesitant feeling in her stomach she tried the adjoining door and almost gasped at the sight. Draco Malfoy was climbing from the shower – water dripped down his chest, and Hermione's mouth went dry as her eyes traced the rivulets of water as they trailed lower disappearing into the soft blonde curls of his groin – _Oh Lord_. When his surprised eyes found hers it took all of two seconds for him to smirk at her. Stammering an apology, Hermione shut the door and backed up until she was leaning against the large cool window breathing heavily. Where was her courage now?

The door slammed open before her and Hermione glanced up at Draco's face, ignoring the dismay she felt at the fact he'd wrapped a white fluffy towel around his waist. This unprecedented feeling made her angry.

"What the hell did you do to us?"

Malfoy raised an eyebrow at her, "I think it's called saving your arse, Granger – and by the way – you're welcome."

"Conceited dick, you know what I meant." Hermione was finding it increasingly difficult to hold Malfoy's gaze, his chest was like a flashing sign demanding attention – her eyes flicked to his muscled stomach and something deep inside of her clenched.

"It was a spell Lloyd and I were trying to design; it worked, a little too well. The entire compound was destroyed, including another ten mile radius around it." He tucked his wet hair behind an ear and took another step towards her – Hermione heart thumped erratically.

"Casualties?" Her mouth was dry again.

"A few, Raul was one of them – Herbert's body wasn't recovered – there's a manhunt for him going on now, and The Grindle Chest is under lock and key again." Draco had entered her personal space, and he ran his hand over the back of her head, feeling for her wound, Hermione inhaled sharply but not from pain. "I thought you were gone…"

Her eyes caught his and the burning between them intensified to fever pitch. _To hell with it_, Hermione threw herself at him at the same time Draco pulled her into his embrace.

Their lips met in a furious dance of need, of passion long stifled – it was a kiss of pure and absolute lust. Before Hermione's hormones could catch up Draco had spun her around so her entire front was pushed up against the cold glass. His hand swept her hair from her neck and his lips trailed hot wet kisses up to her ear and towards her jaw. His knee went between her legs and pushed on her as he held her trapped against the window.

Hermione threw her head back and Draco wasted no time capturing her lips at the new angle, letting his hand trail down her side before finding the waist of her PJ pants. With a small whimper from her throat he dropped to his knees taking off her undergarments with it. She felt exposed and wickedly hot. He trailed licks and kisses up the back of her thighs and when he reached the apex of her legs he spread her open while she arched, dancing his tongue across her wetness. Hermione groaned in want, her head was spinning; she was stuck in a lustful haze of passion as his tongue quested deeper.

With a hand holding her hip Hermione couldn't help but undulate against the window slightly, she heard Draco's chuckle and felt a small returning smile on her own face. Suddenly he was standing up straight again and the rest of her clothes came off until she was stark naked, nothing had ever felt so good in her life. He pushed her against the glass again – it was cool against her breasts – but felt so right. Draco's hand came around the front of her and he pushed between her and the glass until his fingers found her pussy. Hermione saw stars as they nimbly and expertly started to make her fall apart.

Draco's towel had been dropped at some point as his erection pushed into the small of her back and she arched up without realising it so it fit into the cleft of her buttocks, he immediately began to slide it between her cheeks – creating a sweet friction. His breathing was choppy and Hermione knew he was barely controlling himself – and she didn't want him to.

Reaching around behind her, she grabbed his hard cock and grinned when she heard his small hiss and felt him pulse in her hand – god's this was sexy. She was lost in a sea of lust so hot and wet she felt she was drowning – and Hermione didn't care – she wanted Draco inside of her – now. This wasn't about a slow and gentle exploration of the other – this was about sating the tension which had dogged them from the beginning. It was supposed to be quick, furious and dirty.

Hermione didn't really need to guide Draco's hardness to where she craved – he knew. He placed a large hand on her shoulder and another on her hip as he slid directly into her. Hermione yelled out against the glass – her small puffs of arousal making fog patches on the window before her.

He filled her up in one long thrust; then stopped letting her adjust to his size. It was the most delicious sensation in the world. Hermione's gaze fell on the ocean, it was stormy – the clouds were threatening rain and the waves crashed over and over creating swirls of foam and frenzy. She knew what it felt like - her stomach was doing the exact same thing.

"Hermione…" Draco's low growl of impatience made her almost come on the spot.

She nodded her head, "God's yes," and she arched further as Draco began to move within her.

He managed to keep up a steady and impossibly slow pace at first, driving Hermione to distraction – she wanted fast, hard and messy. But his cock slid in and out of her again and again building a pressure so taut she was ready to snap.

Suddenly his hand found her breast and he finally slammed into her giving her everything she'd been craving. As his fingers tightened on her sensitive nipple she cried out, Draco thumped into her with abandon – finally losing control to the sensations flowing between them. Hermione felt bruised and completely satisfied as he continued to pound into her. His grip on her hip began to shake as she felt him nearing his end and she threw her hands up against the glass as he pushed her hard against it.

Hermione screamed her release a few seconds later – never knowing sex could be so lustfully naughty. Draco tensed up behind her and bellowed as he came moments later, while Hermione twitched around his hard cock. Seconds passed – then minutes - neither moved. Hermione's breathing was still patchy and she felt Draco place a small kiss to the top of her head before pulling out from her. The tenderness he showed made her stomach clench – a nice and considerate Malfoy was not somebody she'd had to deal with before and she had no idea what it could do to her. She felt the loss of him keenly and pressed herself against the window more – feeling boneless. When Draco's weight left her – she almost slid to the floor – but he caught her.

Before she could think or protest – she was carried to the bed where she was thrown down.

"Hey!" She yelped angry, this was soon replaced with another sharp pang deep inside of her at the hungry look Draco was bestowing on her.

"I warned you, Granger – you're not leaving here until we are completely fucked out."

Hermione gulped hard and caught Draco's intense gaze again. _Merlin, she was in trouble and it looked like a blonde devil._ This was her last thought as Draco crawled onto the bed and made her see stars over and over.

* * *

**A/N: Well, they finally got their act together! It's about time - they fought me a little on this - I think they wanted to resolve some tension quite a few chapters ago - but I'm stubborn and made them wait!**

**Hopefully you all enjoyed the chapter and the plot-line arc which is coming to a close - only one more chapter peeps - crazy how quick this process goes once you start posting chapters!**

**Once again as usual I thank you all for reading, favouriting, alerting and of course reviewing - I know I've said it before but without all of you guys I wouldn't even post stories - they would be sitting in a file on my computer lying dormant!**

**Feel free to let me know what you think - I love hearing from you all! xx**


	9. Chapter 9

Hermione snuggled deeper into Draco's arms, which tightened across her shoulders at the movement. She tried not thinking about what was going to happen in the next few days when they got the all clear to leave Draco's very cosy apartment on the beach. The last week and a half had been some of the craziest and orgasm-inducing of her life. To top it off – she actually realised how well Draco and her got along when they tried. Their common interests went way beyond the usual; and of course sexually – it was unsurpassable. Hermione had well and truly been fucked out – but she wanted more.

They never spoke about leaving, both of them skirting around the issue of the real world – because in all honesty how could they possibly work out there?

Draco was currently spread out on the L shape part of the lounge, half sitting up with his back against the couch – Hermione was lying next to him, leg caught between his and her head on his chest. Over the last few days they decided a 007 marathon was the perfect way to pass time when not screwing each other senseless. As the closing credits on the latest movie ended, Hermione looked up at Draco.

"I need to know how to ride a motorbike – racing across rooftops looks like fun."

Draco chuckled and pulled her chin up, kissing her sweetly. But, as soon as his lips captured hers the familiar fire raced through them. Were they not capable of touching each other without wanting to rip every shred of clothing from the other? _Apparently not._

Moaning into his mouth Hermione slid herself onto his lap – cupping his face in her hands and tracing her tongue across his lips.

"I'll teach you," he smiled between her small licks.

Hermione let herself for one moment to believe that to be true – but they weren't fools, they had very different lives outside of this room – no matter how great the sex – once back in the wizarding world, things would return to normal. Hermione wasn't an idiot – Draco was not the monogamous type. Pushing the strange feeling welling up inside of her away she pushed herself onto his quickly hardening cock. Merlin – he had to be the randiest wizard in the world – it took nothing for her to get him hard.

Before she could even think about her next move – Draco had completely disrobed her. Admittedly she was only _wearing_ a bathrobe – as was he, but still – he moved like the wind. Suddenly he was lifting her higher – frowning down at him he smirked sexily and her heart pulsed – _crap he was gorgeous_.

"Trust me…" was all he said as his hands slid around her backside and she found herself standing, a foot on each side of his hips. Her mouth formed a small 'o' when she realised what he was about to do. Heart racing she let him pull her forward. Her knees hit the back of the couch, either side of his shoulders. His grip on her arse didn't falter as he leant forward and ran his tongue right through her pussy. Hermione moaned deeply and leaned into his expert ministrations. Merlin, what Draco couldn't do with his tongue wasn't worth knowing about.

Hermione found her hands placed flat on the wall in front of her – to stop her from falling to the side, because to hell if she was going to halt what Draco's mouth was making her feel. His tongue swirled and licked while his lips nipped and teased her tight nub. Hermione felt her breath come in small lust driven pants as the familiar rush of orgasm started in her limbs. One of his hands held her arse in place while the other snaked through behind her to slide two fingers deep inside of her, pumping slowly. Hermione cried out and grabbed his blonde head while she rode out her orgasm – the third for the day. She swore she was the most sensitive person on the planet at that moment.

Her knees buckled and she found herself on his lap again, smiling lazily she spoke into his ear, "you always surprise me, I've never come so quick in my life…"

"Poor, Granger – it's not over yet…"

Before she could say anything, he'd pulled her down onto his stiff cock. She was so wet he slid right to the balls in one movement. Hermione felt his growl of arousal through her as a sharp spike hit her in the stomach. She was still horny, never had this happened before Draco – she was still too scared to admit how she would live without this feeling. Maybe they could organise a 'not trying to kill each other anymore' with benefits scheme…

Draco thrust upwards as Hermione slammed herself down onto him, it was wet and sloppy and the most amazing sensation of her entire life – she couldn't get enough of watching Draco fall apart in front of her – knowing it was her doing it to him. His grey gaze caught hers and he leant his head back on the couch, eyes hooded and full of hunger. As he pounded away into her she found she couldn't take the intensity of his stare anymore – it was too….raw.

The minute she looked away Draco used his strength and flipped them so Hermione was laying beneath him, her legs came up to capture his hips in their grip. She realise a second later what he'd done – now they were face to face, she couldn't look away – she had no escape. He thrust into her again; sweat starting to sheen on his upper lip. She leant up and licked the saltiness away then kissed him.

Draco pulled away from her lips as he slid into her hard, "No, I want to see you come for me – _don't _look away, Hermione."

Hermione caught her breath as his thrusts came harder and faster – she didn't know if she could do this – it was too personal – it was too…soul baring. But she didn't look away, their gazes were captured as his fingers slid between them to tease her clit – Hermione cried out and couldn't believe she was about to come again – only Draco could do it – this frightened her as she looked into his depthless grey eyes.

Shuddering deep inside of her, Draco came a second before she did – neither could keep up the intensity and both of their eyes shut, but Hermione had seen enough. She'd come to the realisation she could very easily fall in love with this exasperating wizard – her life was over.

* * *

Three weeks - it had been bloody three weeks and he'd had no word from the infuriatingly sexy Hermione Granger, she'd not returned any calls or messages and Draco had the sneaky suspicion he'd been used. Well, she did warn him – but he swore there was more to it after their two weeks at his beach house.

He thought he'd been obvious with what he wanted, hell – he'd made love to her at least three or four times a day. Draco's thoughts halted…_no, he screwed her_ – not made love. The lie stared back at him and huffed in a knowing way. He couldn't even escape his own mind – _fine then,_ what he'd experienced with Granger at the beach made him want to make her a permanent fixture in his life. This was the first time he'd ever wanted more from a witch than just a casual bumping of uglies. Although, Granger had the most beautiful…

"Draco, I want to thank you."

He was pulled from thoughts by his head EMS Sales Representative, Nathan. "For what?" he asked while pushing thoughts of Granger's nakedness away.

"For the set-up." He watched as Nathan's handsome face flushed a deep shade of pink. Draco couldn't help smirking at the younger man who was obviously trying to keep it professional but was struggling.

"The set-up…?" Draco frowned, knowing exactly what Nathan was on about – he just enjoyed watching people squirm. His thoughts touched lightly on Granger and how much he thrived on teasing her – he missed it – he missed her.

"Um, yes – Christopher told me it was you who gave him my number – and…well…."

Draco laughed and patted Nathan on the shoulder, putting the poor man out of his misery, "Ah, yes - that. It was my pleasure, Nathan. I mean you did sell him an EMS after all– and that alone funded the new wing at St Mungo's."

Nathan flushed red again, "I'm not wanting to date him because of that. I mean, it's great we could use the proceeds to help the hospital but….well; he is one of the most amazing men I've ever met. Funny, gorgeous, loyal and he has the wickedest tongue that…"

"I get the picture." Draco smiled, annoyed that somebody was getting laid and happy, but also very pleased he could give back something to the wizard who'd saved both he and Granger, Christopher deserved it. Nathan was a wonderful man, they would be good together.

After gushing for another five minutes Draco managed to get rid of Nathan feigning a very important meeting he had to prepare for. Which was actually the truth – he had a meeting, although he didn't need to prep for it.

He sat back heavily in his leather chair and placed his feet up on the solid desk and grabbed his mug of coffee. Sipping slowly he wracked his brain for any idea on how to get Granger to call him back without looking like a fifteen year old girl. He wasn't a needy child constantly wanting attention…he stopped that train of thought – because he kind of was.

Draco knew Granger was a proud witch – she'd spent her entire life scowling at him and she wasn't about to let loose and see what could happen between them without a fight. She wouldn't come on her own free volition – he would have to trick her – and once he had her in his clutches – he knew she wouldn't be able to resist his charm. He realised a moment later that he was spending an awful amount of time trying to think of ways to win her over to the dark side – well the Malfoy side in any case. He also knew it would be worth it.

As he drained the rest of his espresso-grade coffee and placed the mug back on the desk it suddenly hit him – he knew exactly how to get Granger's attention without looking like a twat.

A few Owls and phone calls later Draco sat back smirking - she couldn't escape him now.

* * *

Hermione stood before the large doors to the Minister of Magic's office, her heart thumping. Why on earth had she been summoned? She'd already been debriefed and checked over for residual effects from the ordeal she and Draco had gone through. Her stomach clenched as she quickly thought on the blonde wizard – the blonde wizard she was finding it impossible to forget – no matter the distance she'd managed to put between them.

She knew she was probably being a little unreasonable – returning his messages wouldn't have been hard. But, Hermione wasn't sure she wouldn't just fall into his arms and beg him for another night of sex she wouldn't forget – hell, she was worried she may ask him for more than one night and look like an idiot when he laughed in her face. She already had two weeks-worth of orgasms she was trying to push away – it was not working. If anything it was making her more and more in lo…..lust with him._ Damn imagination_ – it couldn't have been that mind blowing…

The doors opened before her and she walked in at the behest of a small intern. As she strode over to the large desk which took up almost half the window before her she almost stumbled to a stop, Draco Malfoy looking as gorgeous and self-assured as ever, stood there. He was wearing a deep blue navy Muggle suit and a smirk she knew only too well. Hermione's heart started to beat erratically – _damn him_ – he was too much, her senses went into over-drive.

"Minister," she managed to greet an octave higher than she'd have liked.

"Ah, Ms Granger. Now you're here, let's just get straight to business shall we?"

She nodded once and ignored, well tried to ignore Draco who had come to stand frustratingly close to her. His hand brushed her thigh when he moved into position – her brain short circuited.

"As you know, Herbert was found bled out a few days after you were found, due to a gunshot wound to the leg."

Hermione frowned – she hardly remembered the incident at all; everything was a little blurry from the office to their rescue. Draco's finger brushed against her skirt touching her again, she almost jumped away red-faced. There were a few memories she remembered in vivid colour and sound though, Draco's low guttural moans as he came was just one example – him shooting Herbert was not one of them. She realised the Minister was still talking – and she mentally slapped herself to pay attention – which was bloody impossible when Draco kept brushing against her – was he doing it on purpose?

"Now unfortunately his plan has somehow leaked out into the wizarding community. I'm not concerned with most of my constituents – but there are some who may think that finding the second half of the lost key to The Grindle Chest could benefit them – and as you know the second part to it is hidden somewhere in the world."

Hermione already knew about the half key – somehow Raul had flared the chest to life for a few seconds using only one half before being crushed under the weight of the stairs. She also agreed with the Minister that people may try and attempt to find the second part of the key and use it – maybe not for the same insane reasons as Herbert – but imagine what a wizard hell bent on destruction and mayhem could do by going back into the past. The only thing she didn't understand at the moment was why she was standing here being told this. The Minister soon enlightened her.

"So, Ms Granger since you both worked so well together - I want you and Mr Malfoy to find it."

"_Excuse me_?" Hermione blurted then went bright red as she realised how she had just addressed the Minister. "I'm sorry – I mean to say, why me? Isn't this something an Auror or a specialist should do?"

The Minister's eyes flicked to Malfoy for a second before replying and she felt a small not unwarranted bubble of anger begin to stir. Draco had something to do with this.

"I was under the impression, Ms Granger that you are indeed a relic hunting specialist – or is _Relic Collections_ just a front for illegal activities?"

"No, no of course not." Hermione was scrambling for words – she hated to be put on the spot. But, as she took a deep breath she realised this was definitely right up her alley. But why in hell did she have to partner up with Malfoy – although the thought was not as unappealing to her as she'd hoped. They worked well together – _yeah,_ a little too well_. Focus Hermione – the Minister's talking again._

"Right, that's settled then – both of you have the full co-operation of the Ministry and all resources are at your disposal. I don't need to remind you that this small task force I've created must be kept secret." The Minister handed them a piece of paper each. Hermione glanced down and saw Christopher's name amongst another three names – they had a task-force? What in hell had Malfoy gotten her into? Although for the first time in a month excitement began to build at the thought of playing a spy again.

Hermione was still standing there reading the fine print as Draco made goodbyes for them and led her from the room while she was still trying to process what had just happened.

When the large doors closed behind them, Hermione took one look at Malfoy's smug face and spun, stalking away from him. It was too much – how in hell would she be able to work in close proximity with him without wanted to rip off his clothes and have her way with him?

"What is your problem?" Draco grasped her arm tightly and she scowled down at it.

"Nothing, I just hate being put on the spot – if you knew me at all, you'd know that." She ripped her arm free and headed for the elevator.

"Bloody hell, Granger – what do you think I've been trying to do since we got back. I've done everything I could to get to know you – but you froze me out - ignoring me like I'm scum on the bottom of your boot."

She stopped at that and turned slowly, different feelings warring within her. She didn't know whether to be nice or pissed off – what if he was playing with her, isn't that what Malfoy's did, lull you into a false sense of security before betraying you? She knew immediately she was underestimating him – he had been kind and sweet and fiercely protective of her when the chips were down. Hermione knew the fault lay in her – not him.

"We can't be seen together – what would the wizarding world think?" It was a lame excuse even to her ears. She turned and hit the elevators call button.

Suddenly Draco was right up in her personal space gripping her shoulders and making her face him, her breath caught at the proximity. "When have you ever cared what the world thought?"

"I don't, but I have a certain image to protect for my work in the antiquities field and well…"

"Yes," Draco egged her on annoyed.

"Well…you clearly sleep around and party too hard - it would look bad for me." Hermione couldn't look him in the eye – she was lying through her teeth, it was her feelings for him not his reputation that made it hard.

"And how exactly do you know this?" he asked, brow raised and she could see him fighting off a smile.

"I just…everyone knows it, Malfoy."

"Oh really?" he was now laughing at her, eyes crinkling in the corners and she felt her resolve melting.

"Well, don't you?"

He didn't reply, just shook his head. "For somebody so smart, Granger – you are ridiculous obtuse when it suits you."

As he leant forward the bell dinged behind her and she managed to stumble back into the small space of the elevator – Draco pushed in with her and she caught herself on the bar at the back. Within a second he was pressed up against her – she had nowhere to run – and to be frank, she didn't want to.

Groaning at the friction Draco was creating Hermione looked up into smirking grey eyes and felt her own mouth rise to mimic him. His lips caught hers a moment later, and what started out as a sweet kiss of longing soon developed into a hard lust-filled exercise in domination

She felt the lift grind to a halt as Draco reached behind him to push the emergency stop button, his lips never leaving hers. Suddenly it was too hot, it had been too long and both of them began to pant hard against the other. Draco's thrusting was making Hermione groan in need, she needed this, she craved it and Merlin how she'd missed feeling his weight pressed against her. In a small corner of her mind she allowed herself to admit she actually missed Draco as a whole.

Deftly she let her fingers find the fly to his pants and she snaked her hand inside grasping his thickness. He growled into her mouth while hiking her leg up to catch on his hip, which inadvertently bunched her skirt up to her waist. His fingers quickly slid in the side of her panties and she called out his name throatily. This seemed to just make his fingers dance quicker as his open mouthed kisses along her jaw made her lose her sane thoughts. She didn't even care they were in the Ministry's elevator network.

Fiddling with his pants she undid them and pulled his briefs down far enough so his hard prick sprung free, he hissed as the air hit him. And before she could blink, he was there, right at the place she craved more than life itself. His finger pulled her panties to the side as he slid into her without preamble. This was not the long exploratory screw they had enjoyed at the beach house – this was the meshing of lust and passion which had been forced dormant for three weeks. Why in hell had she been ignoring his calls when they could have been doing this every day? She wouldn't make the same mistake again. If he wanted her – he could have her – all of her.

Draco thrust long and deep, Hermione threw her head back against the elevators wall as she called out his name, over and over again until it sounded like a prayer. The smell of lust and sex filled the space and Draco's grunts and Hermione mewls made the perfect backdrop to the slapping of their flesh. She felt reckless and fulfilled and as the wave of white heat began to reach its crescendo Draco sucked hard on the sensitive skin below her ear – she exploded.

Calling out her name Draco's erratic thrusting became almost frantic as he finished off, coming deep within her. Panting heavily and grasping each other as if they were lifelines they finally caught their breaths. Hermione let her head fall back again and shut her eyes – now what? What in hell was she going to do? She'd just proved to herself that working with Draco would be impossible, she wanted to fuck the living daylights out of him at every chance – it would be a horrible idea to be in the same space as him constantly.

Then she felt Draco fingers on her chin, lifting her head forward his lips captured hers again in a slow and sensuous kiss which started her hormones swirling again.

"Granger?"

"Hmmm," was all she could manage as he left another feather-light kiss on her bruised lips.

"You like me a little, admit it."

Her eyes opened slowly and she saw the small vulnerable gleam in his, it made her chest pulse. "I like a lot of things…you may or may not have made the list – it's yet to be determined." she countered with a grin.

"What would help me get on that list?" He asked grinning in return as he finally let her go so they could adjust their clothing.

While she realigned her skirt so the zip was at the back again she hit the emergency button so they started their trip back to the foyer. Noticing Draco's hair sticking up she leant forward and brushed it behind his ear, his lips caught her wrist and she felt the floor beneath her fall, or maybe it was the elevator finally moving. Merlin she loved touching his hair. "Well for starters do you have a car here? That would help to begin with."

The doors opened and Draco motioned for Hermione to follow him, he really did look handsome in the Muggle suit – it was cut to perfection and she felt her face redden when she realised she'd just had her hands down the front of that suit moments before.

Draco preceded her to a large limousine parked out the front and she snorted unladylike, Malfoy just raised an eyebrow at her. "Pretentious much?"

He smirked while placing a hand on the small of her back; leaning in he whispered in her ear, "Come on now, Granger, haven't you always wanted to have sex in the back of a limo?"

Her stomach clenched at his cheeky grin and he held the door open for her. She slid in easily noticing straight away the black privacy screen was already up, she felt her pussy pulse and couldn't understand how Draco did this to her.

A few seconds later he slid in next to her spreading his long legs out in front of him – he looked so at home in the luxury of the town car. "So how is this going to get me on your 'like' list?"

"You can't Apparate into my apartment directly, so we needed a car to get there," she said as she slunk off her chair and straddled Draco, who only too readily pulled her up flush against his chest. "And by my reckoning another thirty or so orgasms may just get you on the very bottom of that list."

"Thirty? Is that so?" he drawled as he thrust upwards slightly, making Hermione flush with renewed passion. She was still sensitive and sparks flew through her tingling pussy. "Get up and turn around."

The order in his voice made her tighten up and she complied without even thinking twice. She ended up on her knees, with her elbows resting on the seat before her. Draco lifted up her skirt until it was once again bunched up around her waist and before she could wriggle in anticipation her underwear had been slid off – she looked over her shoulder and saw Draco put them in his suit pocket. She raised an eyebrow in question he just shrugged with a sexy half smile.

Groaning slightly as she felt the car tackle traffic, Hermione waited for Draco's next move. It came suddenly in the form of a tight slap across her arse, she gasped. Dear god, he was going to kill her with lust – she was drowning in it as another sharp bite of palm teased her, making a small groan escape her lips.

"Interesting," was all Draco said and she glanced around again, knowing her eyes were blown and Draco just watched her with something akin to wonder in his eyes. "Oh, Granger you are going to like me just fine."

With that he pushed her back so her breasts were pressed into the seat before her and he slid into her wetness once more. Biting her lip Hermione managed to barely keep in her loud groan – she didn't want the driver to hear her – even though she was certain he knew what was happening in the back at any case.

The car twisted and turned down the small London streets as Draco's thrusts kept up a slow and torturous pace, he knew she loved it hard and slow – until all her nerve endings were frayed and she was a ball of sensation. Before she could let herself go with the orgasm she could feel slowly building the car came to a halt.

Draco immediately slid from her and pulled her back against him pushing her skirt down.

"What?" Hermione asked distractedly and a little disorientated. How could he just stop in the middle of that? Hermione's pussy began clenching in need – she wanted his cock buried deep inside of her again – now.

"We're here – now take me upstairs or I'll fuck you on the sidewalk if I have to." Draco's voice was gravelly and she knew he hadn't wanted to stop either. Stumbling from the limo she got them inside – although she didn't remember the trip up the stairs full of touches, pushes against the wall and sleight of hand dipping into his pants to grasp his hard wet cock.

Once inside they stumbled to her large bedroom and they both hopped around undressing as quickly as possible. At any other time Hermione would have laughed at their rush – but not today. Today she wanted him thrust so deep inside of her she couldn't remember her name.

They fell in a hot sweaty wet tangle on her bed, bodies sliding against each other, sending little shocks and shards of lust through her. Draco's hands and tongue was everywhere, licking teasing and bringing her to the brink more times than she could imagine, not one coherent thought came to mind – she didn't know where he ended and she began, it was beyond mind blowing.

Just when she thought she would scream from the complete and utter perfection of the lust hazed moment Draco pushed his hard cock into her so hard and fast it made her eyes roll back in her head. Then he stopped and looked down at her, his face was flushed red, his blonde hair still glowed with the dying light from outside and Hermione caught her breath at his complete and utter perfection. And here he was – with her.

As he leant down to kiss her, she heard one word escape his throat, as if it were torn out, "mine."

Hermione's chest clenched as his lips finally devoured hers. She knew she was lost in that perfect moment in time – she_ was_ his.

Their frenzied lovemaking lasted through the night – every few hours one would wake and slowly tease the other into orgasm. Hermione had never been so tired or so completely sated in her entire life, and she wanted more. This was suddenly more important than breathing – being here with Malfoy. Finally they managed to get more than a few hours' sleep, and in the early hours of the morning Hermione awoke wrapped up in Draco's strong arms.

She lazily stretched against him and snuggled deeper, never wanting this moment to end. Thoughts of a future with Draco crowded her mind but she wasn't going to worry about all that now – she had a lifetime. Feeling Draco stir she looked up into his twinkling grey eyes and couldn't help but love the fact she was on the receiving end of his playful and unguarded gaze.

"You ready for our new adventure, partner?" he whispered and pressed his lips to her crown before leaning back watching her.

Hermione smiled and leant up kissing the corner of his mouth and knew this was exactly where she was supposed to be – to hell with what the world thought – she was going to carve out a path for herself and if he wanted to create one next to her – she was more than happy with that. She couldn't wait for the adventure named Draco Malfoy to begin.

End.

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**A/N: Well another silly brain child of mine has been put to rest! I really hoped you enjoyed the story and everything I managed to put these two through. I must admit it was one of the more action based stories I've ever written and I really had fun throwing them under the bus (not literally) a thousand times. I have no idea what I can do with them next!**

**I really would like to thank and praise each and every one of you who read, alerted and favourited this, whether you enjoyed it or not, and obviously I reserve a very special thank you and kudos to those of you who put fingers to keyboard - or phone :) and helped me along with your amazing reviews. I think you are all wonderful.**

**Until next time everyone - stay safe and keep smiling! :)**

**K~**


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